Back to Brief on Iran
The United States government has allowed Mohammad Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian, mullahs' UN ambassador, to travel to Los Angeles to participate in a conference, Voice of America reported. The action, described by VOA as "an important step," is taking place while US law bans the regime's diplomats from traveling more than 25 miles away from New York.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran, in a statement condemning the trip to Los Angeles called for its cancellation.
While in Paris, Ata'ollah Mohajerani, the clerical regime's Minister of Guidance and government spokesman, welcomed the US State Department's stance against the Mojahedin, describing it as "very positive." He added that the measure was insufficient and that "it was only words" and that "nothing concrete has been undertaken."
"The United States' placating policies have so emboldened the mullahs that they would be content with nothing short of extending their repression and censorship to Washington in order to suppress the Mojahedin," the statement said.
The NCR statement added: "The Irangate scandal serves as a stark reminder that all efforts aimed at placating and finding a moderate faction within the clerical regime have utterly failed. Renewing such initiatives after Mohammad Khatami's presidency and a troika leadership will again be futile. The mullahs, beset by conflicts and crises, find themselves in need of greater repression at home and export of terrorism and fundamentalism abroad."
Cleric Official Wants U.S., Israel Denounced At Haj,
Reuter, March 30
TEHRAN - Iran's top official at the Moslem haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday pilgrims should denounce the United States and Israel as "devils," Iranian television said….
"The disavowal of infidels is the realization of the political dimension of haj... which makes the pilgrimage real and complete," the television quoted Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri as telling a group of Iranian pilgrims in the holy city of Mecca.
Saudi authorities prohibit political demonstrations at the haj, saying the pilgrimage should be strictly religious. Iran says Moslems should air political grievances during haj.
Reyshahri said a ritual at the climax of haj, in which pilgrims throw stones at pillars symbolizing Satan, was a "symbol of struggle against America and its illegitimate procreation Israel," the television said.
"America is today at the forefront of all devils," he said.
Iran Threatens Norway For Rushdie Meeting,
Reuter, March 30
TEHRAN - Iran has warned that continued contacts between Norwegian officials and British writer Salman Rushdie might further damage relations between the Islamic republic and Norway.
The warning was made by foreign ministry spokesman Mahmoud Mohammadi late on Sunday after Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik met Rushdie in Oslo on Friday.
After the meeting, Bondevik said his government would not encourage trade ties with Iran, would oppose any loans to Iran by the World Bank and would not allow any official visits from Iran.
Emboldened by U.S. Ambivalence, Total Discounts U.S.
Sanctions as "No Problem", Reuter, March 30
PARIS - French oil company Total (TOTF.PA), undeterred by the threat of U.S. sanctions, said on Monday it hopes to win new concessions in Iran as the Islamic Republic opens precious oil and gas developments to foreign companies.
The French oil major, already heavily involved in Iran, was studying some of a string of oil and gas projects recently listed by Tehran as open to outside investment, said Christophe de Margerie, president of Total's Middle East section.
U.S. sanctions were "no problem," de Margerie told reporters at a briefing in the French capital….
House Passes Defense Budget against Mullahs,
Associated Press, March 30
WASHINGTON - Reacting to fresh concerns about medium-range missiles being developed by Iran and North Korea, the House voted Monday for a $147 million program to beef up the Pentagon's missile defense program.
Sponsors cited developments of medium-range ballistic missiles by both North Korea and Iran.
With technology provided by China and India and possibly by Russia, Iran has been able to develop Shahab-3 missiles capable of threatening Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel and other Middle Eastern nations and Shahab-4 missiles that could reach deep into Europe.