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TEHRAN—A hardline Iranian newspaper called on Wednesday for the hanging of a German businessman arrested for having sexual relations with a Moslem woman, the second such demand in the past two days.
"Iranian people want the sentence to be executed against this corrupt person and make the German government understand it has no right to interfere in our internal affairs," said the fundamentalist daily Jomhuri Islami….
The Iranian foreign ministry confirmed Sunday that a German man identified as Helmut Hofer, 56, had gone on trial in Iran but declined to specify the charges against him or his sentence.
According to the German foreign ministry, the businessman was sentenced to death this month for having sexual relations with an Iranian woman. He was arrested in September.
Germany has expressed "shock" at the verdict, saying it could compromise ties, and German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said Monday he hoped Tehran would act with "discernment" in the case.
Jomhuri Islami was the second hardline newspaper to call for his execution….
The case comes as Tehran and Bonn recover from a bitter diplomatic row last year which ended in a détente in November with the return of European ambassadors to Tehran.
Khatami's Vice President Acknowledges Role in U.S.
Embassy Seizure, The Associated Press, February 4
TEHRAN—The top woman in the Iranian government acknowledged Wednesday her part in the U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran nearly two decades ago, saying that many Iranian officials had been active during the 1979 revolution….
She was responding to an article in the New York Times last month exposing her as the strident interpreter and spokeswoman for the militants who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days….
Night after night during the hostage crisis Ebtekar would appear on U.S. television and list the "crimes" of America against Iran, denouncing the hostages as "spies" and calling for their trial. She identified herself then only as Sister Mary.
The New York Times recounted an instance when Ebtekar was asked by an American television reporter whether she could see herself picking up a gun and killing the hostages. She was quoted as saying: "Yes. When I've seen an American gun being lifted up and killing my brothers and sisters in the streets, of course."…
Khamenei Confirmed as Mullahs' Supreme Leader,
Agence France Presse, February 4
TEHRAN—An assembly of prominent Iranian clerics has confirmed Ali Khamenei as the supreme leader of the Islamic republic despite several challenges to his rule, the body said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Assembly of Experts, which is tasked with appointing the spiritual leader, the highest authority, stressed the primacy of the "Velayat-e-Faqih," or the religious government which finds expression in the supreme leader….
The system of Velayat was established after the 1979 Islamic revolution to ensure the survival of the religious government in Iran….
The latest expression of support came
in the wake of new challenges to Khamenei from Islamic activists and two
senior clerics, notably Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a former heir
apparent to Khomeini.
Anthony Quinn Declined Invitation to Mullahs' Film Festival, Agence France Presse, February 4
Tehran—American actor Anthony Quinn has declined an invitation to attend a film festival in Iran which started Sunday, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
"Mr. Quinn will not come," a source at the Swiss embassy said without elaborating.
The Swiss mission has represented US interests in the Islamic republic since Tehran and Washington broke diplomatic ties in 1980….
The Islamic republic generally frowns
upon contacts with Hollywood….