Back to Brief on Iran
The National Council of Resistance of Iran issued a statement today indicating that the regime, fearing eruption of public protests during the summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference, had announced a four-day holiday in Tehran, December 8-11. The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting last night chaired by Khatami, according to the statement.
Extremely concerned about disorder, unrest and public protests simultaneous with the Islamic summit in the capital, the regime's Supreme National Security Council had earlier assigned the Guards Corps with the task of maintaining Tehran's security.
Several Guards Corps divisions, the
State Security Forces, Bassij, Intelligence Ministry, and scores of other
suppressive organs in the capital have been put on alert. A de facto curfew
has been imposed on the city.
Bonn: Iranian Human Rights Situation Poor, Reuter, December 4
The German government's latest report on human rights says the situation in Iran remains poor, citing a high number of executions, cases of torture and strict controls on freedom of opinion as particular causes for concern.
Bonn's views appear in a Foreign Ministry report to parliament on the state of human rights in the world.
The 50-page report was published last month without any fanfare. But the passage regarding Iran gained much wider attention when it was quoted in an article in Thursday's edition of the mass-circulation Bild newspaper.
"The human rights situation in Iran remains poor," says the ministry's report, which covers the period from November 1996 to September this year -- before European Union ambassadors returned to Tehran after a period of diplomatic tension.
"The continuing high number of executions, cases of torture and a continuing strict containment of freedom of opinion, assembly and religion together with the inadequate establishment of principles of a state of law give cause for great concern."…
People in Isfahan Clash with Guards,
Iran Zamin News Agency, December 4
Reports received from Iran say that following the victory of Iran's soccer team in Australia on Saturday, November 29, the youth in Isfahan clashed with the regime's suppressive forces in various parts of the city.
These reports indicate that streets in Isfahan were blocked from 3:00 PM until the late hours of Saturday as the State Security Forces were unable to control the crowd.
In Koohsofeh, a recreation area in
Isfahan, the Guards and anti-riot personnel assaulted the public with batons
in clashes that lasted from 9:00 PM to mid-night. The crowd was dispersed
only after a large number of youths were arrested. During the clashes,
many vehicles of the Guards were turned upside down and many of them were
attacked by rocks.
Mullahs' Newly Acquired Weapons Technology, The Associated Press, December 4
Iran has manufactured a light battle tank that it intends to mass produce in the near future, a newspaper reported Thursday.
Named "Tosan," or fury, the tank is "capable of rapid response and built for strategic missions," the Salam newspaper quoted Mohammad Ali Jafari, a commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, as saying….
Iran was not known to have possessed advanced technology to build fighter planes or tanks. However, officials announced in September that Iran had started mass producing its first locally-designed fighter-bomber.
Mullahs' Backed Agents Retain influence in Parts of
Bosnia, Reuter, December 4
SARAJEVO—Bosnian police have arrested dozens of suspects as part of an investigation into possible "terrorist" attacks against the country's Croat community, Western officials said on Thursday….
Some of the suspects were foreigners from Islamic countries who dominate some villages in the central Zenica region, the officials told Reuters….
The United States, concerned about Iran gaining influence in Bosnia, demanded Moslem authorities ensure the departure of the Islamic soldiers and cut intelligence ties with the Iranian government as a condition for receiving military aid from Washington.
The U.S. government said Bosnia has complied with its demands but there have been persistent reports that some Islamic soldiers never left and have retained influence in rural areas in central Bosnia….