BRIEF ON IRAN Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran No. 505 Wednesday, September 25, 1996 3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007 Little Hope Seen for EU-Iran Deal on Rushdie, Reuters, September 24 The European Union prepared for a top- level meeting with Iran on Tuesday, but diplomats said there was little prospect of a deal to solve the long-running crisis over British author Salman Rushdie.... "The situation is still pending. So far, there is no agreement and my sense is that it won't be resolved at this stage," said one European diplomat close to the negotiations. Other European diplomats agreed the chances were slim. "I don't know if there will be any deal worked out," British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind told reporters. "One of the crunch questions will be whether Iran is prepared to agree (it) ... will not assist, directly or indirectly, those who wish to murder British citizens." ...but Tehran says the fatwa, issued by Iran's late spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomein, cannot be revoked formally. Iran's Foreign Ministry repeated that in a statement on Tuesday in Tehran, saying the death edict was irrevocable.... The United States wants its European allies to cut off all links with Iran, which Washington regards as a sponsor of terrorism.... President Bill Clinton returned to that theme on Tuesday, urging the world community at the U.N. General Assembly to cut ties with such countries.... Hearing on Assassinated Iran Dissident To Open, United Press International, September 24 A group of Italian lawmakers (Tuesday) is calling on the government to lift the diplomatic immunity of an Iranian Embassy official suspected of masterminding the 1993 killing of a prominent Iranian dissident. A preliminary hearing into the slaying is scheduled to begin Wednesday. [The Italian news agency reported that the trail is for the assassination of Mohammad Hossein Naqhdi, the representative of the NCR in Italy. According to the news agency, today, the lawmakers indicated that the prosecutor has identified Hamid Parandeh, a high ranking diplomat in the Iranian embassy in Rome, as the main assassin, but cannot take further actions since Parandeh enjoys diplomatic immunity.] Iran Accuses U.S. of Totalitarianism, Terrorism, Warns U.S., Reuters September 23DIran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati accused the United States on Monday of "totalitarianism at the international level" including "terrorist activities" and unilateral sanctions against Iran.... September 24DThe commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has warned the United States and Israel against aggressive moves, saying Tehran would strongly retaliate throughout the Gulf, a newspaper said on Tuesday.... The United States, which accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism and has imposed sanctions on it, has repeatedly said that Tehran posed a threat to regional security.... Terrorism: Remembering The Duty, Le Figaro, September 17 ...Terrorism strikes every day: internal terrorism, international terrorism, and France and the French have been special victims since ten years ago. What can the democracies do, and what should they do, to confront this war which is advanced by terrorist countries? This summer, the United States signed a document to enforce trade sanctions against Iran and Libya which draw Europeans protests. It has been 10 years since the wave of assassinations, ordered by Iran, left 13 dead and 300 wounded. The victims and their families will not forget.... The victims remember that relations with Iran since 10 years ago has been pervaded with instances such as "war of the Embassy", pardoning of Anis Naqash Dwho was convicted of assassinating two people while attempting to assassinate [Shah's] former prime minister BakhtiarD by the President in July of 1990, Iran's support for Hizbollah who was responsible for taking French hostages in Lebanon. They don't forget that in 1992, during trials of those accused of 1986 assassinations, the prosecutor general disclosed Iran's shadow during the court sessions. How can we forget the concessions given to Iran in December of 1993 when two Iranian nationals were asked to be extradited to Switzerland for carrying out the assassination of an Iranian dissident, but the French government sent the to Iran without any trial. Iran imposed pressure, once again, during the trial of the murderers of Bakhtiar in 1994. And Iran, once again, refused to revoke the order for assassination of Salman Rushdie. Iran has eliminated hundreds of its opponents all over the world and especially in France, the land of refuge.... [To Be Continued]