Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - The mayor of Tehran, a close ally of President Mohammad Khatami, told his corruption trial on Tuesday that senior figures in the Iranian government were well aware of his use of city assets to reward key employees.
Veteran Mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi, making his third appearance before the court on charges of embezzlement, said he was well within his rights when he awarded top aides for services to the city, a sprawling metropolis of 10 million.
And he said that senior leaders, including the former president of the Islamic republic Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, had sanctioned such activities and even made contributions of their own.
The high-profile trial has been linked by some Iranian analysts to other moves against Khatami supporters including the start of impeachment proceedings in parliament against Interior Minister Abdollah Nouri and the closure of two newspapers sympathetic to the president's reform plans.
"I set...conditions to work as the mayor of Tehran when Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani asked me to. I told him competent management forces cannot be employed at (low) government salaries."
It was in this spirit, said the mayor, that he rewarded his top aides such as the director of city construction.
Later, said the mayor, Rafsanjani also made a contribution of gold coins and a medal to the same aide, who was forced to go to Britain for heart surgery. Other rewards, including discounted cars, were handed out by a leading government religious foundation.
Karbaschi said all senior government officials had access to discretionary "managers' funds."
"All government organizations have this account, but you are dealing only with the municipality and that in this particular period of time," Karbaschi, himself a former cleric, told the turbaned judge during a three-hour hearing. "I had official permission from the Ministry of the Interior."
Karbaschi, who has been suspended from his job for the duration of the trial, is charged with embezzling more than $4.83 million and 140 gold coins. He is also charged with receiving bribes, mishandling public property, illegal possession of public property and illegal conduct in government transactions.
China Assists Iran, Libya on Missiles, The Washington Times, June 16
China is discussing sales of missile test equipment to Iran and is helping Libya develop its own missile program, The Washington Times has learned.
Iran held discussions with China last month on the purchase of "telemetry equipment" for missile testing, said U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports….
Telemetry equipment monitors all aspects of a missile as it travels in flight over a test range.
Henry Sokolski, a defense proliferation specialist in the Bush administration, said telemetry equipment is vital for developing missiles. "When a missile is tested, it produces a data stream in real time about the missile in flight ... and is used to validate the design," he said in an interview….
Russian officials recently told the United States that Chinese and North Korean technicians were spotted in Iran for a missile test, the officials said….
China also has been working with Iran to develop a short-range ballistic missile known as the NP-110. China has been providing rocket motors and test equipment for the missile, which is expected to have a range of 105 miles, according to intelligence officials.
Iran has been seeking special X-ray equipment from China --gear used in looking for flaws in missile casing and for checking the status of solid fuel in missile boosters….
Soccer Fans: Iran OK, Mullahs' Regime No, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 15
SAINT-ETIENNE, France - …. [Resa] Alipour… was one of several thousand expatriate Iranians from around the world, most of whom left Iran in the two decades since the revolution, who were at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard yesterday. A businessman had flown 12 hours from Tokyo.
A family of four was here from Sweden. Many Iranians were in from the United States, draped in flags or wearing face paint or sporting T-shirts broadcasting their support.
Their support for Iran's soccer team doesn't always extend to the government.
"It's not the Islamic Republic. It's Iran. OK?" said Shohreh, a 25-year-old woman who left Iran 12 years ago and lives in Paris... Since he left Iran soon after the revolution, Alipour's political views have become more nuanced. He despises the Islamic fundamentalists who took over after the revolution, believing they are corrupt….
Even the flags Iranians carried yesterday had symbolism. Alipour explained that if fans were carrying a flag without the official government symbol in the middle, their views were probably similar to Shohreh's -- support for the team and country, but not the government.
Alipour said he also had seen several flags that carried opposition insignias in the middle…