Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - A hard-line cleric urged his followers to kill pro-reform writers and activists whom he says are undermining Iran's revolutionary principles, a newspaper reported today.
"They insult Islamic sanctities. They attend a conference to say nonsense. Kill them wherever you find them. This is God's unchangeable tradition," the daily Sobh-e-Emrouz quoted Ayatollah Abolqasem Khazali as saying.
He was referring to a conference entitled "Post-elections Iran" held recently in Berlin, Germany, and attended by several pro-reform writers and activists.
"It is an obligation to launch jihad (holy war) once
every year, just as it is an obligation to fast one month a year. If the
enemy does not attack you, you should attack them," said Khazali, a former
member of the hard-line Guardians Council and a senior cleric at the holy
city of Qom.
Tehran Merchants Stage Protest Backing Khamenei's Anti-Reform Speech, Agence France Presse, April 19
TEHRAN - Tehran’s powerful conservative bazaar merchants are to shut their shops Thursday in a show of support for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who last week rejected "US-style reform" in Iran, their association said Wednesday.
"Businessmen and traders of the Islamic bazaar strongly condemn recent actions against national security and the unity of the country, and fully support the recent remarks of the people’s guide and head of the Moslem community," the association said.
The first reference was to public disturbances in the provinces, where young people clashed at the weekend with Islamic volunteer militia in the northern city of Rasht.
Demonstrations have also been staged against the annulment of the election of several reformists in February’s polls by the conservative elections watchdog the Council of Guardians.
Khamenei warned Friday that "US-style" reforms in
the Islamic republic could destroy the principles of the Muslim faith.
Khatami Allies Attacked over Berlin Seminar, Reuters, April 19
TEHRAN - Iranian conservatives unleashed a new assault on allies of Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday over a trip to Germany by a group of liberal activists and intellectuals.
More than 140 conservative deputies in parliament signed a petition accusing the group of treachery and calling on the authorities to take action against them.
"We resent the Berlin conference and it's undignified participants, and call on the judiciary to take action against these traitors," the conservatives said.
The attack put moderates on the defensive in the bitter power struggle over Iran's future and even some reformers condemned the attendance of their allies at the conference.
Khatami's supporters fear the conservatives could use the issue to whip up religious sentiments against them during the current Moslem holy month of Muharram, when emotions usually run high.
[Agence France Presse in a related report quoted
the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) said in a statement as saying
"The provocative broadcasting of these images is aimed at preventing the
new parliament from meeting, and at hampering the actions and reforms of
Mr. Khatami’s government." The IIPF, is headed by Khatami’s brother.]
Guardian Council Delays Second Round of Elections, Agence France Presse, April 19
TEHRAN - Conservative authorities in Iran have declined to set a date for a second round of parliamentary elections, a full two months after the first round, the official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.
The Council of Guardians, which is responsible for verifying all election results turned down a proposal by the interior ministry to hold the vote on April 28, IRNA said.
"Only 37 days are left before parliament has legally to be convened (on May 28) and the Council of Guardians overseeing the constitution has rejected April 28 for the second round," the agency quoted Mostafa Taji-Zadeh, head of the electoral office in the interior ministry as saying.
The Council had already postponed the round by a week, from April 21 to 28 and has already cancelled results in several constituencies.