Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the former designated successor of the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, has been placed under "heightened police surveillance," officials said Monday.
He was being kept under closer observation in the Shiite Moslem holy city of Qom south of the capital, the head of the Iranian judiciary, Mohammad Yazdi, said….
Ayatollah Montazeri, who was dropped as Khomeini's successor in 1989, last November condemned the monopoly of conservatives over the government and the increasing intervention in policy of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"The case of Mr. Montazeri has been entrusted to the Supreme Security Council," Yazdi said without elaborating.
The council headed by President Mohammad Khatami is Iran's highest authority in defense and national security matters.
Ayatollah Montazeri's remarks sparked an angry response from circles close to the supreme leader with protests organized across the country….
Ayatollah Montazeri, 75, is accused of questioning the constitutional legitimacy and theological authority of Ayatollah Khamenei, who last November called for his trial for treason….
Belarus, Iran Plan Weapon-Trade Pact, The Washington Times, February 17
The president of the former Soviet republic of Belarus is set to conclude a secret agreement with Iran to sell military equipment and spare parts for Iran's tanks and armored vehicles, according to CIA sources.
President Alexander Lukashenko will sign the agreement when he travels to Tehran early next month to meet with senior Iranian leaders, the sources said.
U.S. government officials familiar with the deal said it is the latest sign that Belarus is moving away from democracy and ties with the West and closer to rogue states like Iran.
It also raises new fears among American officials that Belarus will become a conduit for Russian missile and nuclear weapons technology to Iran….
According to the CIA sources, the agreement with Iran provides for sales of tank engines and spare parts, and outlines plans to build a tank-repair facility.
The military cooperation also would include transfer of tank-related technology that Iran needs to maintain and upgrade its T-55, T-62 and T-72 tanks.
Both Iranian and Belarussian officials have agreed to conceal the military pact during Mr. Lukashenko's visit to Iran, set for early March….
The secret dealings are being handled by Belarus' No. 2 diplomat in Tehran, a former military officer the sources identified only by the last name Rybak….
Belarus has about 1,778 Soviet-designed tanks and Iran has about 1,400. Tehran purchased five shipments of T-72s from Poland between 1996 and 1997, according to a classified CIA report produced last year…
Henry Sokolski, director of the Non-proliferation Policy Education Center, said the troubling aspect of the arrangement is the secrecy, which could open the way for Belarus to sell other military goods, such as missile transporters…
Iran Majlis Speaker Hopes Rushdie Will Be Killed,
Reuter, February 15
TEHRAN - The speaker of the Iranian parliament said on Sunday he hoped Moslems would kill British author Salman Rushdie as a lesson to "those who oppose God and God's prophets," the official Iranian news agency IRNA said.
"(Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri), the speaker of the Majlis (parliament) expressed hope...that the execution order of the apostate Salman Rushdie will be carried out by Moslems to teach a lesson to those who oppose God and God's prophets," IRNA said….
An Iranian newspaper said the country's Revolutionary Guards has issued a statement supporting Khomeini's fatwa….
An Iranian Foundation which has promised a $2.5 million reward to anyone who kills Rushdie was reported to have said it was considering increasing the bounty.
"We will make the proper decision about the increase of the bounty at the right time and considering the circumstances," the Iranian Jumhouri Islami newspaper quoted Ayatollah Hassan Sanei, head of the 15th Khordad foundation, as saying.
"Thank God we have the necessary finance
to pay for the bounty," he said.