BRIEF ON IRAN Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran No. 511 Thursday, October 3, 1996 3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007 "Isolate Khomeini, Peace Will Be Here", Italian AGI News Agency, October 2 "Sever all your diplomatic ties with the clerical regime and boycott it, then you will see the regime will not survive for one more day in confrontation against Iranian people." The call was made by Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCR) ... at the seminar on "Fundamentalism and Terrorism: A Threat To International Stability, Peace And Security" that was held today in Rome. The seminar was initiated by the International Federation of Human Rights. Italy's minister of equality of women and men, Anna Finocchiaro, was among participants in the event.... Mohaddessin said: "Until mullahs are ruling in Tehran, there will be no progress toward democracy and freedom in the region and the Islamic world." He explained that the reason was very simple: "Fundamentalism is, in principle, based on people's ignorance and its goal is to prevent nations from progress and advancement." This is why NCR's envoy believes "giving priorities to economic interests" and the "policy of appeasement" which continues to constitute the framework of the relations between some of the European countries and the Khomeini regime, "has demonstrated its futility." Mohaddessin reiterated that the West must know "the petro-dollars poured from Europe and Japan into Iran are entirely used for internal repression, buildup of arms and nuclear weaponry and export of terrorism and fundamentalism to all regions of the world."... Ex-Secretary of State Baker Supports Iran Sanctions, Dow Jones News, October 2 ...[Former U.S. Secretary of State, James Baker] appeared to support the D'Amato bill taking similar [economic] measures against countries trading with Iran and Libya as he described "state- sponsored terrorism" as "one of the biggest threats we face today."... But, without referring to Libya, he added: "I feel differently about Iran; one of the biggest threats we face today is state-sponsored terrorism: this should be a major concern." He said companies and countries seeking to trade with Iran must be presented with a choice: "Either you choose to do business with us, or you choose to do business with Iran." Pointing to "a real difference between Cuba on the one hand and Iran on the other," Baker warned: "If other people don't come along with us on this, we'll have to do it ourselves." Refrain from Selling Armaments to Iran, Radio Israel, September 30 In the meeting with their Chinese counterpart at the United Nations, the foreign ministers of the Arab kingdoms asked the Chinese foreign minister to halt the sale of military armaments to Iran by China or, at least, require Tehran to give assurances that the arms will not be used in attacking Iran's neighbors, an informed Kuwaiti official who did not want to be identified said. In Fear of Qazvin Residents, Iran Zamin News Agency, October 2 Fearing the explosive atmosphere in the Qazvin area, Tehran government agreed to the will of Qazvin residents and announced its agreement to changing Qazvin's status from city to province. The government-controlled Keyhan newspaper said that Khamenei has agreed to this change. The decision is taken in fear of Qazvini people's anger toward government officials which intensified after government's bloody attack against them two years ago. The mullahs' regime used brutal methods in suppressing the uprising which led to the massacre of at least 4,000 residents. Iran's Economy Declines Even Further, Reuters, October 1 ...Crude oil comprises about 80 percent of Iran's exports. Non-oil exports, dominated by traditional products such as Persian carpets and pistachios, fell about 25 percent in the Iranian year that ended on March 19, 1996 due to tough foreign exchange rules adopted in May 1995. Under the new rules, Iran banned free currency exchange, setting a fixed rate of 3,000 rials to the dollar and told exporters to exchange their hard cash income at the official rate in state banks. The move was aimed at boosting the value of the Iranian currency, which fell to as low as 7,000 to the dollar after the announcement of a U.S. trade and investment ban on Iran. The United States accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism and seeking to develop nuclear arms. Tehran denies both charges. The Women "Problem", Iran Zamin News Agency, October 2 The issue of women is becoming a serious issue for the clerical regime in Tehran. Mullah Yazdi, head of regime's judiciary, said: "The problem of women cannot be solved by slogans." He described the issue as a complicated one and suggested to have it discussed by "a group of mullahs in order to find a solution for this problem." Yazdi's comments come at a time when just last week Khamenei and Rafsanjani talked about "desirable conditions of women in Iran".