BRIEF ON IRAN No. 584 Friday, January 31, 1997 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran Washington, DC Fear of Mullahs from the Spread of Mojahedin's Activities, Radio Israel, January 30 The Islamic Republic of Iran again accused the People's Mojahedin Organization of attempting destructive operations by deploying sabotage groups from Iraqi soil into Iran. The Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoting a security officer, whose identity was not given, reported that People's Mojahedin Organization has setup 45 sabotage teams, each with 2 to 4 members, for this purpose. In recent days, the Islamic government has repeatedly reported its clashes with several infiltrating Mojahedin networks. The Press Office of People's Mojahedin Organization in Paris in a statement described "the remarks of an Intelligence Ministry agent, who did not even dare to introduce himself," as "delirious statements of a faltering regime which is terribly frightened at the expansion of the activities of the Mojahedin and popular Resistance forces and their clashes with the suppressive forces of the regime in various cities throughout Iran." "Expansion of the activities of Mojahedin units and Resistance sympathizers in Iran, which are falsely described by the mullahs as 'crossing the border from Iraq,"' has terrified the regime." Mojahedin expressed that one of the objectives of this kind of false accusations is to prepare "the grounds for terrorist and military attacks against the activists and bases of the Iranian Resistance in Iraq." No Improvement in Human Rights Condition in Iran, Voice of America, January 30 The U.S. State Department's annual report on human rights practices world-wide gives a mixed -- and generally bleak -- picture of human rights conditions in the Middle East... The State Department says there is no evidence of improvement in rights conditions in Iran, where it accuses the Islamic government of "systematic abuses," including extrajudicial killings and the widespread use of torture.... [A related report by Reuters News Agency quoted the new Secretary of State Madeline Albright as saying that human rights will remain a "key element" in U.S. foreign policy, on Thursday after her department issued its annual human rights report.... On religious persecution and intolerance, she said: "In too many countries from Sudan, to Vietnam, to Iran, this form of repression persists..."] Fortune-tellers, Geomancers Arrested in Iran, Agence France Presse, January 30 TEHRAN - Iranian authorities have arrested five fortune-tellers and geomancers, accusing them of interfering with state-recognized religious beliefs, a newspaper reported Thursday. The five men, described as "impostors and morally corrupt," were arrested by intelligence ministry officers in the northeastern city of Mashhad, considered a holy place because it is home to a major Shiite Moslem shrine.... Fortune-telling has been on the rise in Iran where many people, especially women, seek help of mystics to resolve family disputes. Under Mullahs' Repressive Rule, Iranian Man Banishes Wife for Giving Birth to Sixth Daughter, Agence France Presse, January 28 TEHRAN - An Iranian man has refused to admit his wife back to their house after learning that she gave birth to a sixth daughter in hospital, a newspaper reported Tuesday. The man made good on threats he made before her delivery that he would not allow her to come back if the baby happened to be a girl, said the woman, identified by her first name Firuzeh.... More Than 70% of Government Employees in Iran Live Under Poverty Line, Weekly Iran Zamin, January 27 According to assessments made by the Administration and Employment Commission of the mullahs' parliament, the average salary of government staff employees during the current year is about $72.5 annually (the dollar exchange is approximately 4,645.00 rials). Considering that the minimum cost of living (poverty line) for an Iranian family is about $138.00 per year, the above income accounts for merely half of their expenses. According to the assessments made by this commission, 1,119,000 government staff employees receive less than $60.00 annually and more than 70% of them live under the poverty line. Kayhan daily, on January 17, quoted Mousavi, a member of the commission as saying that to stop the decline of the buying power of these employees, their salaries must be raised by three folds.