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TEHRAN - An extremist Iranian movement which claimed an attack on a group of US nationals here issued death threats Tuesday against other Americans coming to Iran.
The group calling itself "Fedayeen of Islam" said Saturday's operation against a bus carrying 13 Americans was a warning to Iranian authorities and "CIA spies" visiting Iran in the guise of tourists.
"American spies, their masters and their hosts should know that this Islamic land is no place for American Yankees. They should know that our next operations will put the "Death to America" slogan into practical effect," Hamshahri newspaper reported, quoting a letter from the group.
The Fedayeen, or Devotees of Islam, claimed the Americans it attacked on Saturday were "spies," but Iran's foreign ministry said the group had come to visit historic sights and possibly consider investment opportunities.
Some of the 13 Americans suffered minor injuries from flying glass when the bus they were travelling in was attacked by pipe and club-wielding Islamic militants.
Khamenei on Monday described the United States as the country's "number one enemy."
Earlier this month the Fedayeen threatened suicide attacks against two US diplomats who were held hostage after the storming of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979 and had announced they might return to Iran on a reconciliation visit.
Mullahs' Leader Slams Mideast Deal, Hails Hizbollah, Reuter, November 24
TEHRAN - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday slammed the latest Middle East peace accords and hailed the pro-Iranian Hizbollah's fight against Israel in Lebanon, state television reported.
"There is no logic behind this agreement, except Israeli and American logic," said Khamenei, referring to last month's U.S.-brokered accords between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Islamic republic condemns Middle East peace accords as a sellout of Palestinian and Islamic rights. But Tehran denies backing attacks by militant groups to wreck the peace process.
Khamenei last month attacked Palestinian President Yasser Arafat as a "lackey" of Israel for signing the peace deal.
Iran supports Shi'ite Moslem Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas who have waged war to oust Israeli troops and their local allies from a self-proclaimed security zone in south Lebanon.
"Your presence in that sensitive region is a great divine gift to Islam and the Moslem nation and I hope God will ensure your success," the television quoted Khamenei as telling the visiting Hizbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.
Despite U.S. Efforts, Iran and Russia Sign Agreement on Nuclear Power Station, Associated Press, November 24
Tehran - Russia agreed Tuesday to complete work on an Iranian nuclear plant and study the possibility of building a second one, Iranian radio reported. Russian Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov signed an agreement with Mohammed Aghazadeh, head of the Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, to complete the Bushehr power plant, the radio said.
The United States and Israel have objected to the 1,000-megawatt Bushehr plant, saying it could be used to develop nuclear weapons.
Oil Crisis Shakes Iran's Economy, Reuters, November 23
DUBAI - … Iran has also been making feverish efforts to lure more foreign companies, including those from archrival the United States, to invest in its under-funded oil industry.
The economy is reeling from the oil fall. Its blackmarket currency exchange rate has dived to historic lows and, more ominously, the government is negotiating with creditors for $3 billion in bridge loans to avoid default on massive debts.
"Iran is at a very critical point right now, because it used a lot of hard currency reserves," said Bijan Khajehpour, editor of Iran Focus, a political and economic newsletter.