BUENOS AIRES—An Iranian cultural attaché has been barred from Argentina as a result of an investigation into bombings of the Israeli embassy and a Jewish organization, news reports said Thursday.

The newspapers Clarin and Pagina/12 said Mohsen Rabbani, a leading Shiite Moslem religious leader, was barred from returning from a vacation in Iran in December.

The reports said the decision came amid growing evidence of Iranian involvement in the March 1994 car bombing of the headquarters of the Argentine Jewish Groups Federation that left 86 people dead and the 1992 blast at the Israeli embassy in the Argentine capital, which killed 29.

 
Jihad Calls for Attacks Over U.S. Court Decision Against Mullahs, Reuter, March 12

The militant Palestinian Islamic Jihad group called on its members on Thursday to attack Israeli soldiers and settlers in response to a U.S. court decision on a 1995 bombing by the group.

A U.S. judge ordered Iran on Wednesday to pay $247 million to the family of an American student killed in the bombing, ruling that Tehran financed Islamic Jihad guerrillas who carried out the attack.

Alisa Flatow, a 20-year-old woman from West Orange, New Jersey, was killed when a suicide bomber struck an Israeli bus in the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip in 1995.

Her family filed a civil lawsuit charging that Iran should be held responsible for the attack.

The District Court judge concluded from expert testimony that the Iranian government funded world-wide terrorism in the amount of $75 million each year and that some of that money was provided directly to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

 
Heartfelt Praise, New York Post, Editorial, March 12

Sometimes you just want to say "Bravo," so Bravo! to Judge Royce Lamberth, who has struck a blow for decency with an unprecedented ruling in Washington yesterday against the government of Iran for its role in the 1995 bus bombing that killed, among others, 20-year-old New Jersey native Alisa Flatow.

The group responsible is called the Shikaki Faction of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In court, lawyer Steven Perles proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the group was receiving $2 million a year from Iran - indeed, that Iran actually has a line in the budget of one of its ministries to pay for terrorism.

…If nations are going to use terrorist groups to enact their foreign-policy goals by attacking civilians, they should be held accountable for it in this country, where the rule of law is paramount….

 
Rafsanjani Admits "Prevailing Crisis", Iran Zamin News Agency, March 12

Following the escalation in the operations of the Mojahedin in Iran, Rafsanjani met yesterday with commanders of the State Security Forces where he admitted to "the prevailing crises" in the country, a statement by the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran said.

Referring to "conspiracies and massive investments" for "striking blows at the Islamic Republic," Rafsanjani praised the "important and vital" role of the State Security Forces, particularly that of the intelligence section, in maintaining national security.

Rafsanjani's meeting is one in a series of measures taken by the mullahs' regime to confront the Mojahedin's expanding operations in Iran, the statement said.

 
Mullahs' Basij Suppressive Force, Agence France Presse, March 12

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has replaced the commander of the Basij militia, state radio and television reported Thursday.

While for devout revolutionaries the Basij is symbol of "martyrdom" and dignity, the more Westernized middle class remember them as an intrusive group which regularly harassed them.

Many posing as militiamen in military fatigues set up roadblocks, especially in the more affluent part of cities, to search cars for any signs of "decadent" Western culture -- such as alcoholic beverages, video and audio cassettes or drugs.

They are also allowed to enter private homes or offices to confiscate anti-Islamic items, including satellite dishes which are banned in the Islamic republic, or to stop young couples in the street to establish their exact relationship.
 

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