BRIEF ON IRAN No. 576 Tuesday, January 21, 1997 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran Washington, DC Mullahs Propagate Lies in the Face of Maryam Rajavi's Trip to Resistance Bases, Reuters, January 20 PARIS - Iran's opposition National Council of Resistance on Monday dismissed a report that its figurehead leader, Maryam Rajavi, had been barred from returning to France where she lives in exile. A statement telephoned to Reuters in Paris... said "these lies reflect the mullahs' despair and fear following the trip by the president-elect (Rajavi) to the border region of her country." [In a related statement, NCR said: "Over the past month, the mullahs have experienced the pervasive impact of the journey of the Iranian Resistance's President-elect on 70 million Iranians, and learned the meaning of the new phase of the Resistance's activities inside Iran. Therefore, they have hastily taken recourse in issuing dozens of statements and disseminating hundreds of stories about clashes all across the western provinces and the murder of Mojahedin and their sympathizers. Now, in the conclusion of such ill-fated attempts, they have suddenly made a preposterous discovery that perhaps France had "expelled" Mrs. Rajavi months ago! "Contrary to the falsities propagated by the mullahs' regime, the government of France has never asked Mrs. Rajavi to leave that country. Her right to political asylum in France remains intact and according to the Constitution of that country and its laws on asylum, there are no justifications which could prevent Mrs. Rajavi's residence in France. Nevertheless, the choice of the location of her headquarters of activities remains exclusive to Mrs. Rajavi who decides according to the highest interests of the Iranian people and Resistance, a matter which does not bear any relevance to other governments or parties," the statement said.] Fearing Escalation of Popular Resistance, Regime Resorts to More Suppressive Measures, Iran Zamin News Agency, January 20 Simultaneous with the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadhan, the mullahs' regime has launched another campaign of terror and harassment, especially against women in Tehran, reports from Iran indicate. The regime's Guards Corps has in recent days started another aggressive campaign against women, specially in Tehran. Hundreds of women, including teenagers, are arrested and imprisoned every day on the bogus charge of improper veiling. Mullahs Trying to Blackmail Turkey on Murder Case, Iran Zamin News Agency, January 20 The court of Istanbul which examines the case of two of the murderers of Mrs. Zahra Rajabi, the advocate of Iranian refugees rights, and her colleague, Ali Moradi will convene again on January 24. Tehran's regime has tried all economic and diplomatic means and resorted to every conspiracy in recent months to bring pressure on the government of Turkey and influence the court's verdict. It is thus trying to prevent revelation of the direct role of its terrorist diplomats and condemnation of its Intelligence Ministry agents, one of whom is still imprisoned in Turkey. In a statement, the National Council of resistance of Iran, citing "reliable reports to the Iranian Resistance" said: "This matter was discussed with the Turkish authorities when Rafsanjani and his entourage visited Turkey earlier this year... Rafsanjani asked the officials in Ankara to quickly terminate this and another trial, prosecuting the murderers of Ali Akbar Ghorbani - a Mojahedin member killed in Istanbul in 1992 - without convicting the regime's agents. Otherwise, Rafsanjani threatened his counterparts, economic relations between the two countries will suffer grave consequences." Pakistani Protesters Burn Mullahs' Center, Reuters, January 19 LAHORE, Pakistan - Sunni Moslem militants, angered by a bomb blast that killed their leader and 25 other people, set an Iranian cultural center on fire in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday.... The secretary of Iran's National Security Council, Hassan Rowhani, urged Islamabad last week to crack down on what he called terrorist groups and prevent killings of Shi'ites. The Sipah-i-Sahaba called the Iranian statement an interference in Pakistan's internal affairs. On Sunday, newspapers quoted a spokesman from the Sunni group as saying that Iran was providing Shi'ite groups with guns and money. "We have been warning the government about Iranian backing for the Pakistani Shi'ite community," he said. Khamenei Promises Continued Fight with U.S., Associated Press, January 17 TEHRAN - The Iranian people will not stop fighting the United States until they bring it to its knees, Iran's spiritual leader said Friday.... Khamenei blamed "Zionist media" for waging a "psychological war against the Islamic Republic."... Khamenei criticized Arab states for holding peace talks with Israel, saying Israel had proved it was not serious about peace.