Mohammad Khatami and his ministers met yesterday with Ali Khamenei, the mullahs' leader. Stressing the need to stay the course, Khatami said security and confronting the "cultural onslaught" are his government's top priorities. His remarks make it clear that repression and censorship top his government's agenda.

Khamenei told Khatami that he must always heed the interests of the Hezbollah, even when they run counter to the interests of the general public. Khamenei described the Revolutionary Guards, Bassij, etc. as the regime's "sincere and honest troops," whose needs must be met because were the only people who would rush to the aid of the regime in a crisis.

Khamenei emphasized that "economic problems" and "fundamental matters" will not be resolved in the near future, contradicting Khatami's campaign promises, and warned the public against any expectations of change in the status quo. "The people must not have unreasonable expectations and think that all the problems will be resolved in six months or a year," he said.

[Reuters reported that "Khatami, his ministers and vice presidents were told by Khamenei they should observe Islamic values… and resist the dominance of 'arrogant powers' especially in the field of 'cultural invasion.'

"Before the audience, Khatami and his ministers visited the shrine of Khomeini… 'They also pledged to safeguard the values and to defend the ideals of the Islamic revolution under the leadership of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,' the official news agency IRNA said."]

Iranian Resistance Condemns Israeli Arms Shipments to Mullahs' Regime, Iran Zamin News Agency, August 25  

The National Council of Resistance of Iran issued a statement in Paris, condemning shipments of arms and military equipment to Tehran by Israeli companies. The NCR said the arms sales are "counter to the best interests" of Iran's people, because they are used "to suppress the Iranian people and to export fundamentalism, terrorism, anarchy and insecurity to the Middle East region and the world."

The NCR also noted that the Khomeini regime has used Israeli weapons, including mortars, in many terrorist operations against the base camps of the Iranian Resistance.

Iran Paper Repeats Conditions for Talks with U.S., Reuter, August 25

TEHRAN - An Iranian newspaper said on Monday the United States should stop its "bankrupt" charges against Iran before the Islamic republic could agree to talks with Washington.

The Tehran Times daily, seen as closely reflecting the view of Iran's Foreign Ministry, listed four conditions which were "sacrosanct...and stated over and over again for nearly two decades."

Washington had to "stop hostile words and deeds towards the Islamic Republic. Start understanding and respecting the Islamic Revolution and its values. Stop baseless charges against Iran and start releasing frozen Iranian assets in the United States," the paper said.

… Washington last week said it was willing to enter conditional talks with Iranian officials to discuss Tehran's opposition to the Middle East peace process, its support of international terrorism and its desire for nuclear weapons.

Reports that the U.S. showed willingness to discuss these topics have been met with derision in the Iranian media. "Old habits die hard. These bankrupt charges even fail to amuse fools," the Tehran Times said on Monday.

Iran Says Women Need Permit To Marry Foreigners, Reuter, August 25  

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's government… has warned Iranian women not to marry foreign men without an official permit, newspapers reported Monday.

"In many cases the husbands of Iranian women have abandoned them without notice and gone back to their country," Abbas Najipour, head of the Foreign Ministry's registration office, was reported as saying.

Without getting a permit to marry a foreign man, the government would not defend women in divorce courts or grant Iranian nationality to any children, he said.

… Cases of Iranian women marrying Afghani men are common in Iran's eastern agricultural provinces neighboring Afghanistan, But marriages to other nationalities also occur in Iran's main cities, including the capital Tehran.

Israel: Terrorist Arms from Iran, The Washington Times, August 22 

JERUSALEM - The Shi’ite, pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement operating against Israel from southern Lebanon has been supplied by Iran with new Katyusha rockets, according to reports in Israel yesterday.

The new missiles have a range of 25 miles, almost twice as far as the 13-mile range missiles used by the guerrillas so far, the Jerusalem Post reported, quieting army sources...

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