German Banks Raided in Iranian Arms Inquiry, Agence France Presse, April 18

DUSSELDORF - Investigators have seized a quantity of documents during searches of bank branches in Hamburg and Dusseldorf in connection with inquiries into an Iranian arms firm, a spokesman for the Dusseldorf’s prosecutor’s office said Friday.

Peter Lichtenberg said Thursday’s raids were aimed at the Defense Industries Organization rather than the banks. The DIO is suspected of possible infraction of foreign trade legislation…

According to a report appearing Saturday in the Koelnische Rundschau newspaper, the DIO is believed to be a "procurement body" for the Iranian leadership and to have developed illegal trade relations with Iran using the banks…

U.S. Wants Australia To Cut Iran's Trade Credit, Dow Jones, April 22 

CANBERRA --The U.S. wants Australia to cut a US$750 million line of credit for Iran, Australia's biggest customer for wheat.

The newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Australia, Genta Holmes, told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. would like other countries to take the same tough stand on Iran that it does.

Holmes described Iranian terrorism as a major issue in world affairs. "In our heart of hearts, we would like to see everyone take the same tough stand as we do," she said. "But that is not realistic." When asked if the U.S. would like to see Australia drop the line of credit that it negotiated with Iran in February 1991, she replied, "Yes, we would." …

Revolutionary Guards Launch Unprecedented War Games, Agence France Presse, April 22  

TEHRAN - Iran's Revolutionary Guards began Tuesday their largest war games ever near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, involving more than 200,000 troops and missile firings, officials announced….

Baptized "Tariq al-Qods" (Way to Jerusalem), the four-day exercises are aimed at training the Revolutionary Guards and Islamic volunteers for a rapid response to any threat against Iran, said Rezai…

The war games are being staged along the entire Gulf coast of Iran, including Kermanshah province bordering Iraq, which fought a 1980-1988 war against the Islamic republic, officials said…

The Pasdaran is a 400,000-man strong force created after the 1979 Islamic revolution to complement the regular Iranian army. It is being turned into a rapid intervention force. The more than 200,000 troops participating in the these latest exercises are the largest force ever deployed by Guards in annual Gulf war games.

A Sampling of World Press Reaction to the Berlin Verdict, Voice Of America, April 17

• Neuepresse of Hanover, Germany, says: "[German foreign minister] Klaus Kinkel's 'critical dialogue' with the regime in Tehran was a failure. Human rights were not supported. But covered up by nice words, secret business deals developed; the Federal Republic became .... pivotal in the armament [of] Iran… business without morality proceeded. ..... It is hard to believe ...the government in Bonn ...only now ...discovered this."

• In Bonn, the General-Anzeiger had this editorial comment: "Relations with a country, which orders the murder of its opposition leaders in Germany, make no sense. The Iranian state leaders did not distance themselves with a single word from this crime."

• In Scotland, Edinburgh's The Scotsman goes right to heart of the international dilemma when it says: "....the problem for both Europe and the United States is that while they are now both equally convinced of Iranian participation in acts of terrorism overseas, neither of them has come up with an effective policy for countering it."

• In Belgium, Le Soir of Brussels suggested that: "The ayatollahs' illegal and criminal actions cannot remain unpunished."

• The Buenos Aires Herald tied the German court verdict to an act of terrorism closer to home: "…it is hoped that the verdict has both an impact on the Iranian regime and on those parties in this country who continue going out of their way to prove that almost anybody - - with the exception of the main suspects - - must be responsible for the terrorist attack on the Israeli embassy and Amia. As was proved in Berlin .... All that is needed is a court of justice with the will and capacity to investigate with complete judicial objectivity, establishing truth and justice while offering no concessions to political necessity."

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