Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - A man suspected of killing a former Iranian prison chief has been
arrested while trying to leave Iran, state-run Tehran radio reported on Thursday.
It quoted an Intelligence (internal security) Ministry official as saying the suspect, who he described as a member of the Mujahideen Khalq armed opposition group, was arrested while trying to leave the country to rejoin the group in Iraq.
The Mujahideen denied any of its members had been arrested after officials announced Deh-Balaei's arrest.
Lajevardi, 63, who headed Tehran's Evin prison after the 1979 Islamic revolution and was also a prosecutor, was often accused by opposition groups of being responsible for alleged torture and mistreatment of political prisoners.
Many political prisoners were held at Evin in the years before and after the revolution.
Mullahs' Regime Paves Way For Military Attack on NLA
Bases, Iran Zamin News Agency, August 27
The clerical regime's Intelligence Ministry announced that a member of the Mojahedin "carrying a full load of weapons was arrested with the help of the public" as "he was returning to his terrorist base in Iraq."
This claim is intended to prepare the grounds for military attacks against the bases of the Iranian Resistance in Iraqi territory. A statement by the Press Office eof People's Mojahedin of Iran reiterated that "the bases of Mojahedin's operational units are located in Iran and their operations are undertaken with the help of the Iranian people."
"It seems that in the wake of the great euphoria that the punishment of the clerical regime's Adolph Eichmann aroused among 70 million Iranians, the ruling mullahs find themselves in dire need of daily arrests and a pretext to link Mojahedin's operations inside Iran with Iraq," the statement added.
It is worthy of note that until yesterday, the mullahs were claiming in their propaganda that the Mojahedin had used Afghanistan as the springboard for launching this operation.
Iran Carpet Traders Want Rules Reformed, Reuter, August 27
TEHRAN - Iranian officials should undertake bold reforms in consultation with exporters in a genuine effort to boost faltering exports of carpets, Iran's main hard cash earner after oil, a leading trader said.
Khosrow Sobhe, a member of the board of the Iranian Carpet Exporters' Association, said the group had proposed a package of reforms, including relaxing tough foreign exchange controls, which are partly blamed for plunging carpet exports.
The carpet industry in Iran employs around two million people and provides for the livelihood for about eight million.
Last week Iran said it exported carpets worth $114.1 million in the four months to July 22, down 30 percent year-on-year. The fall was a blow to government efforts to boost non-oil exports as a way of dealing with shrinking income due to low oil prices.
Rug export troubles reflect the state of all Iran's non-oil exports which fell 26 percent year-on-year in the three months to June 21. Iran's customs head blamed the fall on inconsistent state policies and excessive red-tape.
The dive in non-oil exports is a serious blow to the economy of Iran, the world's third largest oil exporter, which has been reeling from the slump in oil prices.
So Much For The "Rule Of Law", German DailyTages Zeitung, August 11
Killing of religious minorities in Iran is, in fact, legitimized. After six years, once again a Bahai was executed.
Two brothers attacked a man, rubbed him, and finally strangled him and burned his body. They were brought to court.
The judge had no doubt about their guilt. But their sentence was 18 month imprisonment for "disturbing public order." And killing a human was worth punishing. The reason is that the law says "a Muslim shall not be questioned for a pagan's death." The victim was a Bahai.
An Army Officer, shot a young soldier dead with 3 bullets in his head. A court martial acquitted him. The dead soldier was Bahai.
Both incidents took place in Iran… The reason is that no law, not even the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, protects their belief…