PARIS - In statements today, the People's Mojahedin of Iran, called mullahs' claim that an Iranian Armenian and two children were killed as a result of the Mojahedin's operations in Tehran, "sheer lie."  The statements said that all those killed or wounded in the Mojahedin attack on the "Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office were torturers and interrogators and there were no ordinary citizens among them."

In the past two days the state-run media have published conflicting reports about number and identity of casualties. In fact, Christian priests and Iranian Armenians in Tehran have said they were unaware of an Armenian working at the "Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office," while they said the man's body was brought to an Armenian church in Tehran by government agents and not family members.

"By resorting to these bold-faced lies against the Iranian Resistance, the clerical regime is trying to counter the wave of public delight and joy brought about by the punishment of some of the henchmen and torturers of the mullahs' regime," it added.
 

Mullahs' Leader Vows Allegiance to Khomeini's Ideals, Reuter, June 4
TEHRAN - Thousands of mourners heard on Thursday supreme leader Ali Khamenei vow Iran's continued allegiance to the ideals of Ruhollah Khomeini on the ninth anniversary of his death.

"Today, nine years later, anyone who looks at this country sees signs of the presence of the honorable Imam (Khomeini). The Imam is among us." Khamenei said in a speech carried by Tehran radio.

"Today the hearts of the people, the government, the president, the parliament, the judiciary...beat for Islam," said Khamenei, who succeeded Khomeini after his death in 1989 at the age of 86.

"Our defeated enemies, America and Zionism, will not be able to hurt this nation and cause damage as long as Islam rules in your country," said Khamenei, days after bombings by Iraq-based Iranian rebels.

Tensions rose this week with a resurgence of attacks by the Iraq-based Mujahideen Khalq, Iran's main opposition group.
 

Khomeini's Grandson Calls For Unity, Associated Press, June 4

Tehran - With the rift widening between supporters and foes of Iran's president, the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urged Iranians toward unity on Thursday's anniversary of Khomeini's death.

Speaking to a crowd at the religious leader's gold-domed shrine outside the capital, Hassan Khomeini called President Mohammad Khatami the best proponent of his grandfather's teachings.

"Today, Khatami is the man who is providing the best assistance for the thoughts of Imam Khomeini and the current leadership of the country," the young Khomeini said. "Khatami is establishing the pillars of the thinking of
the Imam in the society."

While appearing to voice support for the president, the younger Khomeini, also invoked a familiar theme of the Islamic revolution that Khatami has tried to soften: anti-Americanism.

"Whoever talks about relations with the U.S. government ... is far from the thinking of the Imam (Ayatollah Khomeini)."
 Invoking the words of his late grandfather, Hassan Khomeini declared: "Relations with the United States are as (impossible as) relations between the wolf and the lamb."

That brought the crowd to its feet in the revolution's battle cry of "death to America."

The crowd appeared to number in the tens of thousands, not the hundreds of thousands that came in previous years.
 

Professor Threatens Self-Immolation, Agence France Presse, May 28

PARIS - An Iranian academic has threatened to set himself on fire outside the UNESCO building next Friday unless Tehran guarantees him a fair trial for alleged spying for France.

Mohammad-Hossein Papoli-Yazdi, 50, a geography professor at the Ferdowsi university at Mashhad in northern Iran said he had been interrogated by Iran's intelligence services, which had only released him in May and allowed him to leave the country after he had promised to cooperate with them and posted bail of 25 million riyals obtained by mortgaging his house.

"From Tuesday I will begin a protest outside the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris to attract attention on the situation of academics and researchers in my country and the lack of respect for the rule of law," he said.  "If the Iranian government does not respond to my demands, I will immolate myself on Friday, June 5 at 9:30 a.m. French time (3:30 a.m. EDT)."

Papoli-Yazdi said that 10 of his colleagues had been imprisoned and interrogated last year. He accused the intelligence services of conducting a campaign of forcing academics to spy for Iran.
 

Back to Brief on Iran