TheTehran regime announced yesterday that 11 persons had been hanged in public in various parts of Iran. This brings to 45 the number of public executions since Khatami became the president.

In a statement released yesterday in Paris, the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran said the mullahs routinely use public hangings to terrorize the public to prevent spread of protests. The NCR added that the continuing executions indicate that nothing has changed under Khatami, who is neither interested or capable of initiating reforms in the medieval dictatorship.

[In its report on the executions, the official daily Tehran Times reported that the victims included "Six members of an infamous gang [who] had been arrested three months ago charged with extortion, drinking alcohol and terrorizing the public.]

Maryam Rajavi Calls on Iran's Youth to Resist Against Mullahs, Iran Zamin News Agency, September 23  

In a message on the start of the academic year in Iran, Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance's President-elect, urged Iran's more than 20 million students to take part in demonstrations against the mullahs, and encouraged them to spread a spirit of trust and solidarity among the people and confront the mullahs' advocacy of vengeance and mistrust.

Mrs. Rajavi said that there was a shortage of more than 300,000 classes and 328,000 teachers in the elementary level, alone. More than 90% of village girls were deprived of a high school education.

The Resistance's President-elect also emphasized that the mullahs have devoted an enormous budget and major resources to repression at the schools and universities.

She added: "Creating 800 command headquarters for the student Bassij in 280 institutions of higher education, allocating a quota of 40% of annual university admissions to its agents, systematically expelling professors, conducting body searches, setting up 17,000 bases for the para-military Bassij in schools across the country, and implementing various security and spying measures, are but some of the regime's efforts. They are indicative of its alienation and rejection by students."

Gore: We Have Proof That Iran Is Building Nuclear Weapons, Nando.Net, September 23 

MOSCOW - Vice President Al Gore on Tuesday said the United States and Russia had new proof that Iran was secretly working to build ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

"In general it is obvious that there is a vigorous effort by Iran to obtain the technology it needs to build ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons," he said.

"In a sense this is not new, but the kinds of details provided by both sides in the study flesh this out in a new way," he added, referring to a special report handed to a joint commission led by Gore and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.

Chernomyrdin refused to go into details, saying only: "The report is very detailed and very good. It satisfied us on all aspects. We will work on this issue further."

Their remarks came one day after Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi rejected as "baseless accusations" charges that his country is developing nuclear weapons. "The Islamic Republic of Iran, on the basis of Islamic principles, considers weapons of mass destruction inhumane and illegitimate," Kharrazi said Monday in a speech to the General Assembly.

…"It is self-evident that insecurity in the Middle East is rooted in Israeli militarism and its arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, which have thwarted all disarmament initiatives and mechanisms in this region," Kharrazi said Monday.

Khatami Slams Turkey For Planning Military Exercises With U.S., the official state Iran News service, September 23  

TEHRAN - "Under U.S. pressure, the Turkish government, with total disregard for the concerns and anger of Arab and Muslim states, has submitted to this humiliation," said President Khatami, referring to the joint military maneuvers by Turkey, the U.S. and the Zionist regime. The comment was made at a parade of Iran's Armed Forces, marking Sacred Defense Week, which kicked off from Azadi Square here yesterday morning.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran refrains from conflict but at the same time will not tolerate interference in its internal affairs," stated Khatami.

…The President emphasized the need for independence-seeking nations like Iran to support a strong defense force in the face of continuos threats by world hegemonic and expansionist powers.

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