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Mujahedeen chief Massoud Rajavi called for the Iraqi government "to arrest and prosecute" the attackers, the spokesman said, adding they had left behind large quantities of weapons and ammunition.
The attack was the 52nd operation since 1993 against the Mujahedeen
in Iraq by agents of "the religious dictatorship ruling
Iran," the group said. In October, Iranian aircraft bombed two
Mujahedeen bases in Iraqi provinces bordering on Iran, raids that
Tehran said were defensive.
[In a statement, Mr. Massoud Rajavi, President of the NCR, said
the terrorist operation today, only one week after the summit of the Islamic
leaders in Tehran, clearly indicates that the religious, terrorist dictatorship
ruling Iran is incapable of reform.
[Mr. Rajavi added: That this operation in the capital of an Islamic
country occurred so quickly after the Islamic Conference had adopted resolutions
that strongly condemned terrorism, affirms that Iran's criminal rulers
are not bound by any rules or principle.]
Iran Denies Agreeing to Provide Written Pledge
on Rushdie Safety, Agence France Presse, December 21
TEHRAN - Iran on Sunday categorically denied a British
newspaper report that it was willing to provide a written commitment
not to take action against the British author Salman Rushdie.
The newspaper The Independent quoted Iran's culture minister,
Ataollah Mohajerani, as saying that Iran hopes to restart talks over
the death sentence imposed on Rushdie now that EU ambassadors have
returned to Tehran.
But the culture ministry, quoted by the official news agency IRNA,
said it "categorically denies the information," and that Mohajerani's
comments had been distorted.
"The fatwa remains irrevocable," IRNA added, referring to the religious decree issued in 1989 by Iran's late spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
73 Executions Since Khatami's Inauguration,
Iran Zamin News Agency, December 21
In recent weeks, the mullahs' regime has hanged 13 persons in
public. They included Eassa Rahmati, Safar Shahouzahi, Ahmad Shahlibar,
Shahmorad Faqirshahi and Khodabakhsh Sabooki, hanged on December 10 in
Bandar Abbas (southern Iran). Two men were hanged in Tehran's Qasr Prison
on December 17. The hangings bring to 73 the number of those stoned
or hanged in public since Khatami took office 4 months ago.
Top Iran Judge Says Dissidents Part of Foreign Plot,
Reuter, December 19
TEHRAN - Iran's top judge on Friday accused dissidents who have
questioned the authority of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei of carrying out a foreign plot. Head of judiciary Ayatollah
Mohammad Yazdi also warned dissidents they could face prosecution.
"The judiciary cannot tolerate a conspiracy. This is a well planned
plot, and not just one person, and the judiciary must act
according to its duties," Yazdi said in a Friday prayer sermon.
Yazdi's remarks marked the end of a lull in attacks on the dissidents, most notably Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, which lasted while Iran hosted an Islamic summit earlier this month.
Montazeri has questioned Khamenei's qualification to become the
top Shi'ite spiritual guide in addition to being Iran's supreme
political leader. The new president has repeatedly pledged allegiance
to the supreme leader and refused to be drawn into the debate..
Iran's Oil Earnings Forecasts "Unrealistic": MP,
Agence France Presse, December 20
TEHRAN - Iran is unlikely to earn 17.5 dollars from the
sale of each barrel of crude oil as forecast in the government's
draft budget for next year, a member of parliament said Saturday.
"The price does not correspond to the present market rates, not
even for winter. The figure is difficult to target," MP Abbasali
Nura told Kayhan newspaper, adding that Iranian crude was presently
selling
at 17 dollars a barrel.
Moreover, a rise in OPEC production ceiling early this month "will
most certainly trigger a slump in oil prices during the coming months,"
he added.