Tehran reported on March 20 that the would-be assassins of Said Hajjarian, who was shot on March 12, have been captured. But the government then attempted to control all commentary on the case, either to protect the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (with which the assassins are supposedly linked) or to hide the system’s shortcomings.…

But the attempt to stifle speculation on the case failed, and Tehran is full of rumors. There are rumors to the effect that Said Asqar is a member of the IRGC, the assassins are linked with an IRGC unit in Shahr-i Rey, and an IRGC commander has been relieved of his duties while his involvement in several other assassinations is investigated, according to "Al-Sharq al-Awsat."

Furthermore, the Arabic daily reported, the attack on Hajjarian was the 15th carried out by the Islam Fighters Association (Hayat-i Razmandegan Islam), which is led by Colonel Abolqasimi, who formerly led the IRGC intelligence unit. Hojatoleslam Khaki is supposedly the group’s spiritual guide…

"Sobh-e Emrouz" and "Mosharekat" speculated that there have been more arrests by the IRGC. But the IRGC is not willing to turn the suspects over to other law enforcement organizations, possibly because it is trying to protect its own reputation…

A commentary in the March 22 "Mosharekat" pointed out that whenever such cases occur, the first impulse is to blame foreign conspiracies.
 

Khatami Calls On Revolutionary Guard to Maintain Security in Iran, Agence France Presse, March 29

TEHRAN - Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday called on Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, or Pasdaran, to fight against threats to the country's security, the official IRNA agency reported.

Khatami told a gathering of Guard commanders: "The collective struggle against the current blows against security is a crucial necessity for the maintenance of order and stability of the country."

General Rahim Safavi, the head of the Revolutionary Guard, and other senior officers took part in the meeting with Khatami.

Khatami's latest speech followed revelations on Saturday that one of the more than 10 people arrested in the Hajarian case was a member of the Pasdaran.
 

Russian-Iranian Nuclear Cooperation Alarms U.S. Officials, CNN World Today, March 27

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: … Tonight we examine how Moscow's nuclear dealings with one Persian Gulf country in particular are raising concerns in the United States. Atop the list of U.S. fears, that Russia is helping Iran develop a nuclear bomb.

BILL RICHARDSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF ENERGY: … We've made it very clear to the Russians that this cooperation beyond this Bushehr reactor has to cease.

BLITZER: It's precisely that $1 billion Bushehr reactor located along the Persian Gulf in southern Iran that is causing U.S. intelligence officials the greatest concern. The construction is seen as cover for allowing Russian scientists and other nuclear experts to share information and technology with Iran. Russian and Iranian officials strongly deny that, insisting the light water reactor will be used strictly for peaceful purposes, generating electrical power…

But U.S. officials tell CNN they base their suspicions on several sources: satellite photography of the reactor, intercepted phone conversations, and informants with first-hand knowledge of the exchanges between Russian and Iranian personnel.

Even more worrisome, say U.S. officials and other experts outside the government, is a fundamental fact of nuclear life. The reactor will eventually produce plutonium that Iran could reprocess to build a bomb…
 

Pro-Khatami Journalist Summoned to Court Over "Shadow Government" Charges, Agence France Presse, March 29

TEHRAN - A leading activist in the Iranian "reform" movements has been summoned to appear before Tehran's revolutionary court over charges that the nation is being run by a bloodthirsty "shadow government", press reports said Wednesday.

Journalist Emadeddin Baghi has alleged that a murky network of secret agents is operating inside the police, intelligence services, state media and the elite Revolutionary Guards, functioning as a parallel power that controls the Islamic republic.

The press quoted sources close to Baghi as saying that he would appear before the court at the beginning of next week, after being initially summoned by the intelligence ministry.

Baghi has also claimed that minister Ali Yunesi, in charge of Iran's powerful intelligence services, is helping the conservatives by trying to cover up the attempted murder of leading reformist Said Hajarian.

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