BRIEF ON IRAN
No. 565
Tuesday, December 24, 1996

Representative Office of
The National Council of Resistance of Iran
Washington, DC


Rafsanjani Admits Some Saudi Bombers May be in Iran, Reuters, December 23

	DUBAI - Iran has received information that the bombers of a U.S. military
complex in Saudi Arabia were Saudi citizens, President Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani was on Monday quoted as saying.
	"What we have heard officially is that those involved are Saudi citizens
and that some escaped from the kingdom and possibly came to Iran,"
Rafsanjani said....
	U.S. media reports had linked Iran to the bombing and said some of the
bombers had been to Iran and received training at pro-Iranian Hizbollah
camps in Lebanon....


Suspiciously, the "Missing" Iranian Journalist Turns Up in Tehran, Reuters,
December 20

	An Iranian journalist who was "missing" for almost two months when he
failed to arrive in Germany as expected turned up at Tehran airport on Friday...
	Iranian writers in exile in Germany had accused Tehran of detaining Faraj
Sarkuhi as he prepared to board a flight to Germany on November 3....
	Sarkuhi, the editor of the monthly Adineh, said he kept his arrival in
Germany a secret because he and his wife -- who lives in Germany -- had
"problems" and he was trying to arrange to take custody of their children.
	He said that he had not contacted his wife during his visit.
	German authorities had also said they believed the journalist never left
Iran and tried to gather more information....
	When journalists asked to see Sarkuhi's passport, he said he had given it
to someone in Turkmenistan to help him secure a Canadian visa....


Rafsanjani and His Daughter Discomfort Turks, The Washington Post, December 22

	NATO member Turkey today signed several accords with Iran designed to
bolster trade between the neighboring countries, ignoring a U.S. call to
isolate Tehran....
	The visit by the Iranian brought to the surface a certain discomfort on the
part of many secular Turks who do not approve of Erbakan's overtures to Iran
and Libya...
	Rafsanjani's daughter, Faezeh, created some commotion among secular Turks
by stating that "Ankara resembles Iran during the last years of the shah." A
legislator from the center-right coalition partner True Path Party, Ali Riza
Gonul, protested, saying that "a guest should respect the hospitality shown
to her" and that her remarks "were of a very distressing nature."...


U.S. Concerned Over Iran-Turkey Trades, Associated Press, December 23

	The United States voiced distress Monday that Turkey's Islamic-led
government had ignored its advice and signed several trade agreements with
Iran. But the administration seemed likely to do little more than complain.
	... Secretary of State Warren Christopher denounced Iran as a supporter of
terrorism and a purchaser of weapons of mass destruction.
	"I regard them as a dangerous force in the world scene, one that the United
States has to act to contain," he said last week....


Iran-Russia Sign Accord, Associated Press, December 23

	TEHRAN - Russia's foreign minister said today that his country and Iran are
pillars of security in the Persian Gulf and criticized the U.S. military
presence in the oil-rich region.
	Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov, meeting with Iranian parliament
speaker Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, "condemned the recent tensions in the region
created by the United States," according to a statement from the parliament....

[In a statement, the National Council of resistance of Iran condemned the
trip to Tehran by the Foreign Minister of Russia and that country's sales of
arms to the mullahs' regime.] 


Iran Receives its 3rd Submarine, Associated Press, December 23

	A Russian-built submarine destined for delivery to the Iranian Navy is on
its way to the Persian Gulf, a Pentagon official said Monday....
	The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States
was concerned about the subs "because if they were used they could create
havoc."
	Iran's naval buildup also has worried Arab states across the oil-rich
Persian Gulf....
	"Iran could use the submarines for attacks on tankers or for mine-laying
operations," the official said.

BRIEF ON IRAN
WISHES ALL OF YOU
VERY HAPPY HOLIDAYS
AND
A SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR

BRIEF ON IRAN will resume its publication on January 6, 1997