BRIEF  ON  IRAN
        No. 158
        Monday, May 1, 1995


        Representative Office of
        The National Council of Resistance of Iran
        3421 M Street NW, #1032
        Washington, DC 20007


"Rafsanjani blasts U.S. policy on Iran," United Press
International, April 28

        "ATHENS - Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
launched a strong verbal attack on the United States Friday
for its policy of isolating Iran economically, the official Islamic
Republic News Agency said....
        "He singled out the Democrats as being particularly
hostile to Iran, recalling that it was Democratic President
Jimmy Carter who ordered the helicopter attack which ended
in disaster in the Iranian desert at Tabas April 25, 1980....
        "'Today the same party is repeating its previous
blunders vis-à-vis Iran,'  Rafsanjani...."


"Iran Chief Criticizes U.S.," The New York Times, April 29

        "... Speaking at the Friday service ... Rafsanjani said: 'The
Iranian revolution cannot be isolated.  America will only
deprive itself of opportunities in an important center where
everyone wants to have a presence.
        "Two weeks after Mr. Rafsanjani warned of a unilateral
suspension of trade with the United States, in response to the
introduction of American legislation to prohibit American
companies from doing business with Iran, his address today
appeared intended to broaden the rift in the Administration
over the proposed trade ban."


"U.S. Says Russia May Expand Deal With Iran," Reuters, April
28

        "WASHINGTON - A top Russian official, to the alarm of
the United States, has raised the possibility of providing Iran
with bomb-grade nuclear fuel in addition to atomic reactors,
U.S. officials say.
        "They said Washington learned about two weeks ago
that the issue had been raised with Iran by Viktor Mikhailov,
head of the cash-strapped Russian atomic energy agency....
        "'Subsequent to our worries about the reactors, we
discovered there have been some discussions between
Mikhailov and Iran to do things that go well beyond the
reactors, to include the provision of enriched uranium,' one
U.S. official told Reuters....
        "If such an expanded deal were to go forward, it would
'substantially increase the risk' posed by Russian nuclear
cooperation with Iran, although just providing reactors by
themselves is serious enough, another U.S. official said...."
Commentary:
The Beginning of the End
        With the price of basic staples incessantly rising, living
conditions have become even more unbearable in Iran and
both the urban and the rural communities are extremely
restless, reports from Iran say. Despite promises to bring the
situation under control, the government itself is a major
contributor to price rises. Here are some examples.
        The Petroleum Ministry doubled the price of gas. Shortly
after, with the beginning of the new year, other government
institutions followed suit. The Economic Council raised the cost
of urban mail by 25%. The Supreme Council for Examination
and Determination of Consumption Pattern ratified a plan
according to which families who consume up to 44 cubic
meters of water per month must pay an additional 25% while
those who consume more must pay another 35% for water.
The Ministry of Industries published a list of 439 industrial
items and their prices. Market prices are lower. In Tehran, the
price of a television set is 197,000 tomans in the market
while the government has set its price at 205,000. As recent
as April 16, bread prices were doubled in Sanandaj, Kurdistan.
On April 6, the daily Ettela'at reported that potatoes were
being sold at 90 tomans per kilo instead of the previous price
of 60.
        And the public is furious. "People have already given up
eating beef and chicken. But they cannot stop consuming
potatoes which is the main food for low income families,"
Ettela'at quoted a housewife on April 16. Salam referred to
the public discontent on April 10: "Arguments over price
control have regrettably produced noting but nervous and
mental pressure. The impact will definitely spread throughout
the society." The daily blamed the authorities: "Perhaps, they
think the people will quickly get used to the new prices and
maintain their calm."
        But Islamshahr was a well-known trouble spot where
the regime had taken extraordinary security measures to
keep the "calm". On the "D" day, however, these measures
proved  inefficient. The mullahs are running out of time and
they know it.