... the United States has tougher nuts to crack with Iran, according to Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, commander of U.S. Central Command, who addressed the Mideast Policymakers Conference at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington on Monday…

"Iranian leaders have been very shrewd. They have developed a growing capability of asymmetrical threats -- missiles, fast patrol boats, submarines, anti-ship missiles," Zinni said, adding that "terrorism" in that part of the world was another "cheap, asymmetrical way to come at our forces." While terrorism is not exclusively a Middle Eastern phenomenon, Zinni explained, what worries him is "state-sponsored terrorism used as an instrument of foreign policy."

Rafsanjani Warns against Relations with U.S., Agence France Presse, September 5 

Iran's former President, Rafsanjani, warned the government against any from of improved relations with Washington, which he said was trying to create discord in Iran's political elite.

Speaking at the Friday prayers at Tehran University, he said: "We must not be fooled by the deceptive ploys of Americans, because they do not like us very much."

He said Mohammad Khatami's new government must be conscious and decisively resist against Americans so that they would give up the wish of peddling influence in Iran.

Albright: Deny Hamas Aid, Associated Press, September 14 

ABHA, Saudi Arabia - Striving to get Arab-Israeli peace talks back on track, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright appealed Sunday to wealthy Arab countries to do everything possible to deny financial aid to Hamas and other radical Islamic groups...

In the past, Iran has fostered instability and supported terrorism, tried to acquire weapons of mass destruction and sought to destabilize friendly countries, Albright said.

"It is in these areas that the test of President Khatami's new government will occur," she said.

Iran is considered the major backer of Hamas, the militant Islamic group blamed for two recent suicide bombings in Jerusalem that killed 20 Israelis.

Again, Mullah's Press Show Animosity towards Peace, Reuter, September 14 

TEHRAN - Iranian newspapers on Sunday pronounced U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's first visit to the Middle East a failure.

The newspaper called the visit "a humiliating, scandalous start for Albright." Other newspapers, including the Persian daily Iran and the English Tehran Times, also portrayed Albright's tour as a failure…

"Arabs should close ranks and get their rights back themselves. They can also look to Iran as a big supporter in their drive for regaining Arab and Palestinian rights."

Corruption in State Sector, Reuter, Sept. 12 

TEHRAN - A senior Iranian cleric on Friday blasted corruption in state agencies and firms and called for the seizure of ill-gotten gains.

"Most illegally accumulated wealth is somehow linked to public funds. Such great fortunes are rarely created by ordinary dealings of the people and the private sector... All wealth obtained illegally should be confiscated," Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said in a sermon carried by Tehran radio.

"Large sums have been made on the big disparity between the state exchange rate for hard currencies and the rate on the free (black) market," Jannati, secretary of the powerful Guardian Council, told worshippers gathered at Tehran university for Friday prayers.

Economists say some state bodies have been involved in illicit currency deals unrelated to their core activities, to increase their income after budget cuts. Some officials have been accused of using their political clout to amass private wealth.

Demonstration to Protest Repatriation of Iranians, Iran Zamin News Agency, September 12 

3,000 Iranians demonstrated in the Hague today to protest against the Dutch government's policy toward Iranian asylum-seekers. The rally demanded that Iranian asylum-seekers be granted refugee status.

In a message to the rally, which was held across from the Parliament, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance's President-elect, said: "The forcible repatriation of Iranian asylum-seekers is not merely a grave violation of the sacred right to asylum. It is also a green light to the mullahs that they can increase the suppression and torture in Iran and assassination of Iranian dissidents abroad."

Back to Brief on Iran