Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - National elections to a key clerical body, which has the power to appoint and dismiss Iran's supreme leader, will be held on Oct. 23, state radio said Thursday.
The Assembly comprises 83 Shi'ite Muslim clergymen who are elected for eight-year terms.
It appointed Ali Khamenei, a mid-level cleric later elevated to the rank of ayatollah, as supreme leader in 1989 after the death of the founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Since his election, Khamenei's credentials for the position of Iran's paramount authority have been challenged by Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a senior dissident cleric.
Accused Arms Smugglers Await Start of Canadian Extradition Proceedings, Agence France Presse, May 27
VANCOUVER, Canada - A date for extradition proceedings to begin against two Vancouver businessmen, accused of trying to smuggle arms to Iran and wanted in the United States, will be set on June 17, a Canadian judge said Wednesday.
The decision was announced during a brief appearance in British Columbia Supreme Court of Reza Akrami, 59, and Mohsen Lessan, 30, who are free on bail.
US authorities had requested the extradition of the Iranian-born men to face charges of conspiracy to export arms to Iran in violation of an US embargo.
US authorities said undercover agents in San Francisco were approached by the two who wanted to buy "Klystron" a key component in the Hawk missile defense system.
Iran Says Guards Develop Tank, Missile, Reuter, May 24
TEHRAN - Iran has developed a new light tank and a surface-to-surface missile, a senior military official said in remarks published on Sunday.
Brigadier-General Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Revolutionary Guards ground forces, said the Towsan (Wild Horse) tank had been developed by his forces, the daily newspaper Iran reported.
Jafari had previously said the armored vehicle was armed with a 90 mm cannon, could move at high speeds and was easily transportable.
In July, Iran opened a plant to produce another locally-designed tank. Tehran said in 1994 it had started the mass production of its first indigenous armor.
Jafari said the new surface-to-surface missile had a range of 50 to 150 km (30-90 miles), the newspaper said.
The Revolutionary Guards would hold military exercises code-named Ashura-3 in September in north-western Iran to mark the anniversary of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, the commander was quoted as saying.
Iran's efforts at self-sufficiency coincide with efforts to save hard currency to pay back a large foreign debt.
Iran's armaments program has caused concern in the United States and Israel and among Tehran's Gulf Arab neighbors…
Mullahs A Year From Missile to Reach Israel, Dow Jones News, May 25
TEL AVIV - Iran is one year away from missile capabilities to strike at the Jewish state, Israel TV reported, citing intelligence and military experts.
Israel has long warned Iran is seeking technology to build a bomb and is close to having its own long-range delivery system - the Shihab 3 missile - that would be capable of hitting Israel.
Israel TV quoted Israeli military officials as saying that Iranian advances in long-range missile projects was a direct result of Russian assistance and warned that if it isn't halted immediately, the more advanced model of the Shihab will be ready within a year.
Israel's answer to a long-range missile, the Arrow, is still in test stages and is unlikely to be operational before the end of the year.
Angelo Codevilla of the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies, an Israeli-American think tank, said the Arrow would need an upgrade to counter an attack by a Shihab 3.
Iran Starts Amphibious Wargames in Gulf Waters, Reuter, May 24
The Revolutionary Guards launched on Sunday amphibious military exercises in the Gulf, the official IRNA news agency said.
"Tens of vessels and fighter planes
of the second zone of the navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards corps
and the army of the Islamic republic as well as the troops and bombers...are
scheduled to display their prowess in the maneuvers," IRNA quoted Rear
Admiral Ali Razmjou as saying….