Declaring Iran had not changed under its new leadership, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is sharply criticizing France over a $2 billion natural gas deal struck by a French company. "They just don't get it," Albright says.

Denouncing Iran as an unreformed rogue state, Albright said Tuesday that Tehran supports terrorism and is undermining peace in the Middle East. "It is of great concern to us that our friends and allies don't get it," she said….

In condemning Iran's support for terrorist groups, Albright said no change in policy had been detected under President Mohammad Khatami.

President Clinton had tried to encourage change, offering the new leadership the prospect of good relations with Washington if it stopped supporting terrorism and trying to sabotage Mideast peace efforts.

Albright called Iran a "prime example" of a rogue state….

French Group Urges Boycott of Total over Iran Pact, Reuter, October 1  

A French group defending victims of terrorism on Wednesday urged consumers to boycott French oil company Total SA for signing a $2 billion contract with Iran.

"In memory of all those killed on the orders of the Islamic republic of Iran, we, victims of terrorism, call for a boycott of Total products in favor of competing products," said Francoise Rudetzki, head of SOS Attentats (SOS Attacks)….

In her article, Rudetzki said: "The founding principles of democratic states must not be sacrificed in the name of economic imperatives of a company, even one of the national importance of Total."

She wrote that years of Western contacts with Iran had "brought no real change in Iranian policies," pointing to disputes including the fatwa death order still hanging over British writer Salman Rushdie for alleged blaspheming against Islam….

Iran Exiles in Iraq Vow To Topple Tehran's Rulers, Reuter, October 1

Iranian opposition groups meeting in Baghdad vowed on Wednesday to escalate their struggle to overthrow the Tehran government, the country's main exiled opposition movement Mujahideen Khalq said….

The statement said they vowed to "advance to overthrow the clerics' regime and realize freedom and popular sovereignty in Iran."

The National Council of Resistance (NCR), an umbrella for various groups of exiles including Mujahideen Khalq, also called on the Iranian people to overthrow the ruling mullahs….

The National Liberation Army (NLA), the umbrella group's military wing, has bases along the Iraq-Iran border…. Iran has repeatedly bombed NLA bases inside Iraq, using warplanes, mortars and long-range artillery. On Monday eight Iranian planes bombed two NLA camps….

Russia Is Assisting Iran's Missile Drive, Says USA , Jane's Defence Weekly, October 1 

The Clinton administration says that Iran is making a "vigorous effort" to acquire the technology to produce nuclear weapons and the ballistic missiles to deliver them. It also insists that much of this is being provided by Russians, whether or not with Moscow's official sanction….

Israel has repeatedly claimed over recent months that Iran is within 18 months of producing a ballistic missile, the Shahab-3, with a range of 1,200km to 1,500km, because of Russian assistance. Israel also claims Iran is planning to develop a longer-range weapon capable of reaching all of Europe and western China….

Space, Lies And Nuclear Bombs, The Wall Street Journal, October 1

Whatever else one might say about Iran these days, it appears to know a lot about the art of political seduction. The most recent visitor to the Iranian boudoir is France, whose Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, came away from the experience shouting the he "rejoices" in the new $2 billion deal between the French Total Oil Group and Iran to develop a natural gas field. Never mind that its partner finances terrorists who compulsively blow up innocents in other parts of the region.

Another frequenter of the Iranian boudoir…is Russia…. That program [Iran's missile program], if it comes to fruition, could in combination with Iran's nuclear project put millions of lives at risk, destabilizing a large and strategically important region of the world….

It is of course important for the U.S. to try to maintain a friendly relationship with Russia…. The U.S. has to make it understood that it will not shut its eyes to Russian activities that pose a danger to important interests of this country and its allies.

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