Germany Ready to Review "Critical Dialogue", Preparing for Terrorist Reaction after Trial, Reuter, April 7 

BONN - Germany said on Monday it was ready to review its relations with Iran, depending on Tehran's reaction when a Berlin court rules this week in the trial of men accused of killing Kurdish opposition leaders on Iran's orders.

Iran has repeatedly expressed its anger with the German prosecutors who have accused Iran of "state terrorism" and issued an arrest warrant for Iran's intelligence minister, Ali Fallahiyan, in connection with the killings….

The news weekly Der Spiegel said the government had put together a working group of security experts to develop scenarios for Iran's reaction to the judgment due on Thursday….

The three and a half year trial has proved to be a severe test of Germany's policy of "critical dialogue" with Iran, much criticized by Western allies the United States and Britain….

Der Spiegel said Khamenei had taken part in the conference of a religious commission whose members had called for the establishment of committees for the punishment of "enemies of God in Germany."

Iran to Sue 24 German Firms in a Bid to Influence Mykonos Verdict, Agence France Presse, April 7

TEHRAN - Iran said Monday it was preparing to sue 24 German companies for providing Iraq with chemical weapons or technology during its 1980-1988 war against the Islamic republic.

Mohammad-Reza Abbasi-Fard, the deputy-head of the judiciary for executive affairs, said the defendants would be called to appear in a Tehran court shortly, but did not give a date….

His remarks came as a Berlin court prepares to issue a verdict on Thursday in the murder trial of four Iranian Kurdish opposition figures in which Iranian leaders have been implicated.

Iran first threatened to sue the German companies over alleged chemical aid to Iraq last November after German prosecutors accused Iranian Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani of approving the assassinations….

Opposition Group Says Tehran Poisoning its Members, Agence France Presse, April 7

BAGHDAD - An Iranian Kurdish opposition group charged Monday that Tehran is trying to eliminate its members by poisoning them with a highly toxic metallic substance.

The Democratic Party of Kurdistan of Iran (DPKI) said, "more than 60 of its members have been hospitalized after consuming products containing thallium."

The poison was brought into the DPKI camp in Sulaymaniyah in northeastern Iraq by "Iranian agents," the group said in a statement.

The director of Baghdad hospital, doctor Fawzi al-Ani, told reporters that analyses "confirmed the existence of thallium."…

In July, more than 2,000 Iranian soldiers entered northern Iraq to hunt down DPKI fighters.

 Peres Says Iran Responsible for Argentine Bombings, Agence France Presse, April 7

BUENOS AIRES - Iran is to blame for the deadly blasts here at the embassy of Israel in 1992 and a Jewish association building in 1994, ex-Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres said Monday.

Peres arrived in Argentina Monday for a three-day visit during which he will meet with top government officials including President Carlos Menem….

Alarmed by Youths' Alienation, The Christian Science Monitor, April 2

… Iran's population has doubled since 1979 Islamic revolution, so almost half of its citizens - 30 million people - have no memory of life before. For them, dogma and the call of the mosque have little appeal….

Islamic authorities appear to recognize the dangers of the alienation. "Young people are facing very serious problems today, such as unemployment, economic problems, and uncertainty about their future," says Saeid Rajaie Khorasani, former Iranian representative to the United Nations and a candidate in this May's presidential elections….

Few believe that Iran's youth can achieve social liberalization overnight. But the Islamic authorities are aware that, just as young Iranians were vital in toppling the shah's regime, so too could they turn against the current regime. "The youth of Iran were the engine of the revolution," Khorasani says. "We have to take their view very seriously."

Back to Brief on Iran