BRIEF ON IRAN No. 588 Thursday, February 6, 1997 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran Washington, DC Iranian Resistance Condemns Arrest of Iranian Writer, Demands His Unconditional Release, Iran Zamin News Agency, February 5 The National Council of Resistance of Iran issued a statement today saying that: "After several weeks of silence about the fate of Mr. Faraj Sarkouhi, the mullahs' regime announced in a preposterous scheme that it has arrested him for 'trying to leave the country illegally.'" The NCR condemned the "recent arrest of Mr. Sarkouhi and such stage-managing as 'illegal departure from Iran.' It calls on international human rights organizations to take immediate steps to secure his freedom." The statement added that: "The Western countries' silence and inaction vis-à-vis the atrocities of this anti-human regime under such pretexts as 'critical dialogue' only embolden the mullahs to step up suppression and the export of terrorism. Decisiveness is the sole effective policy toward the regime ruling Iran." "Sorry State" of Arts in Iran, Agence France Presse, February 3 Iran's top Persian classical singer has protested to the state-run radio and television organization IRIB for playing his songs without his authorization, newspapers said Monday. "Your organization takes the liberty to act in every way it pleases: you broadcast artistic works without permission, censor them on whim and trample on the most basic right of an artist," Mohammad Reza Shajarian said.... Shajarian, one of the most respected figures in traditional Persian music, also blasted the "sorry state" of music broadcast by Iranian radio and television.... Death in Front of The Mosque, Agence France Presse, February 2 The official Iranian news agency, IRNA reported Sunday that in a commotion on Saturday night in a mosque in Iran, two young girls were killed and 43 wounded. According to this agency, the incident happened in front of the entrance to the grand mosque of Kermanshah (western Iran) as the crowd pushed to enter the building... Two 27 and 55 year-old men and a 70-year- old woman and two 7 and 13 year-old girls lost their lives in this incident. Kermanshah was the scene of intense battles in early December after the suspicious death of a Sunni leader in this city. The Iranian state-run radio confirmed these riots but denied the circumstances of mullah Mohammad Rabii's death. Iran Developing Missiles Capable of Striking Israel, Saudi Arabia, Agence France Presse, February 5 Iran will have missiles capable of striking Israel within 10 years, CIA acting chief George Tenet told Congress on Wednesday. Iran "is building its capacity to produce and deliver weapons of mass destruction -- chemical, biological and nuclear -- and in less than 10 years probably will have longer range missiles that will enable it to target most of Saudi Arabia and Israel," Tenet told the Senate intelligence committee.... Iran's Arms Deals with Russia, BBC Radio, February 3 The Russian government has acknowledged that sale of weapons to Iran will continue until 1999. Quoting the vice president of Russia's weapons export company, the Interfax news agency has reported that according to the current agreement with the United States, no new deal will be signed with Tehran after that date. Meanwhile in Tehran, a delegation from Russia's Duma has stressed that no other country could imperil the expansion of cooperation between the two countries. Just the military agreements signed between the two countries amounts to one billion dollars which mainly include sale of Russian weapons and military technology. New Quake Strikes in Iran, Agence France Presse, February 5 Another earthquake struck northeast Iran Wednesday as rescuers battled snow-clogged mountain roads to reach victims of two temblors the day before which killed more than 70 people and left thousands homeless. The new quake measured 5.7 on the Richter scale and hit Bojnurd, said the seismological center in Mashhad, 250 kilometers (160 miles) away. About 3,000 families lost their homes in two earthquakes measuring 6.1 and 5.4 which rocked northeast Iran Tuesday, leaving 72 people dead and 360 injured, according to the latest toll....