Riots erupted for a week in the towns of Nayriz and Abadeh in the southern Iranian province of Fars as people protested against the clerical regime's policies, according to reports from the province.

Several people were killed, more than 100 wounded, and several hundred others were arrested. At least 10 Revolutionary Guards and Intelligence Ministry agents were severely wounded in the clashes.

The demonstrations and clashes reached their peak on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 12 and 13. The people of Nayriz, chanting "Down with Khamenei" and "Down with Velayat-e Faqih", ransacked and set fire to many government centers.

"The courageous uprising by the people of Fars and the mullahs' brutal reaction in the second week of Khatami's presidency," said Massoud Rajavi, President of the NCR, "show that no meaningful reform of this regime is possible. The Iranian people seek to overthrow this regime in its entirety." Mr. Rajavi called on young people throughout the country to join the National Liberation Army to fulfill this national aspiration.

Tehran's Top Security Commander Appointed to Fars Province, Iran Zamin News Agency, August 17

  Following the uprising in Nayriz and Abadeh-Tashk in the southern province of Fars, the mullahs' regime appointed the Commander of the State Security Forces in the Greater Tehran to head the forces in Fars Province

As one of the highest ranking commanders of the State Security Forces, Guards Corps Brigadier General Youssef Reza Abolfat'hi has been directly involved in the massacre of the people of Tehran, including the bloody suppression of the uprising in Islamshahr in April 1995. Abolfat'hi was one of the officials in charge of setting fire to Tehran's Evin prison in July 1994.

 Magazine Attacked, Reuter, August 17

  TEHRAN - The office and staff of an Iranian magazine often critical of Iran's religious establishment have been attacked, the magazine's editor said on Sunday.

He claimed the attack resulted from a recent article in Iran-e Farda that questioned the practice of obligatory Islamic religious prayers in government offices.

This story had been strongly condemned in another magazine called Shalamcheh which is the mouthpiece of Iran's Ansar-e Hizbollah, a group of hard-line Islamic radicals.

[In a statement from Paris, the NCR said that "Iran-e Farda is published by Ezzatollah Sahabi, former minister of budget and planning under the Khomeini regime, who has always acted within the framework of the government and never opposed its policies of repression and export of terrorism.

This attack in the second week of Khatami's presidency is yet another indication that the religious, terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran is not prone to any reform, and that Khatami is neither willing nor capable of any change in the status quo.]

Overview 

  TEHRAN - Analysts and diplomats said on Sunday Iranian President Mohammad Khatami faced stern political challenges, daunting economic problems and huge expectations -- especially among Iranian youth and women -- for social change...

Earlier speculation that Khatami might be able to bring about major foreign policy changes -- particularly with the United States -- have faded as the conservatives and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have shown no signs of weakening their strong grip on foreign policy and the main institutions of government...

Analysts said Khatami has already given way to conservative pressure over his appointments for intelligence, defense and foreign ministers...

"President Khatami has now taken a risk of nominating Abdullah Nouri for interior ministry and Ataollah Mohajerani for...ministry of culture," the Iran News reported on Sunday.

Mohajerani has become a lightning rod for conservative opponents for his support of direct talks with the United States in 1990. Under this criticism, he has felt it necessary to clarify his views on talks with Washington.

"Now the situation has changed and under current circumstances I reject even holding talks with the U.S.," Mohajerani told IRNA.

Looming large over the factional in-fighting is the harsh reality of the Iranian economy which is afflicted by rampant inflation, profiteering and widespread unemployment.

Oil revenues -- which form 40 percent of total government revenue -- are already running behind budget forecasts and the country's food supply situation is becoming worrisome...

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