Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - A new medium-range missile test fired by Iran last month is meant to defend the Muslim world and other oppressed countries, a senior Iranian military commander said Tuesday.
Experience has shown that Muslims' pacifism has only made enemies more aggressive, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in an interview with the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Qalibaf is the commander of the air wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a separate force in the military with a strength of about 120,000 men.
Qalibaf's comments mark the first time Iran has indicated a religious motive for developing the Shahab-3 missile, whose range of 1,300 kilometers makes it capable of hitting Israel and U.S. troops stationed in Saudi Arabia.
Iran is staunchly opposed to any peace with Israel and calls for its annihilation. It also backs guerrilla groups fighting Israeli troops in South Lebanon.
US Congress Votes to Cut AIEA Fund for Iran Reactors, Associated Press, August 4
WASHINGTON - The House has voted to cut U.S. voluntary contributions to the International Atomic Energy Agency by the amount the agency spends on nuclear energy projects in Iran.
The nonbinding measure, which passed 405-13 on Monday, also tells the Secretary of State to undertake an annual review and report to Congress on the IAEA's programs to ensure they are in line with U.S. nuclear non-proliferation policies.
Yazdi Says Women Cannot Serve As Judges, Tehran Radio, July 31
Tehran - Judiciary Chief Mohammad Yazdi told the Friday prayers congregation on July 31: "Some time ago we promoted a lady to the status of a judge. Then they created an uproar in the world that bewildered me. The counter-revolutionaries inside the country wrote that pressure by Iranian women forced the Islamic Republic to retreat and give a judicial rank to a woman… We have 99 women who have judicial positions... The women I mentioned hold positions in the judiciary, they receive salaries, they attend trials, they provide counsel, but they do not preside over trials"
Iranian Newspaper Director Convicted of Insulting Khomeini, Associated Press, August 4
Tehran - A newspaper executive has been convicted of insulting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini by publishing a letter that criticized the late cleric's rule. Za'eri [the managing director of the weekly newspaper Khaneh] was found guilty Monday of insulting Khomeini and Islam by publishing the letter, which criticized ayatollah's role in the 1980-1988 war with Iraq.
In the letter, an unidentified woman wrote: "When I think of Khomeini, all that comes to mind are the horrifying sounds of the midnight bombs that used to fall on Tehran, and the blood of thousands of innocent young Iranians who died in that war."
"Do you call me to follow someone who has transformed Iran into an international terrorist state with his order to murder Salman Rushdie?" the letter said, referring to Khomeini's order to kill Rushdie for insulting Islam in his novel, "The Satanic verses.
On July 27, militants threw a small petrol bomb at Khaneh's office and threatened further violence if the paper didn't change its policies.
Publishers, Reporters Assaulted, Associated Press, August 2
TEHRAN - A newspaper defied two orders to shut down and began publishing under a new name Sunday, setting the stage for a clash with powerful hard-liners opposed to Iran's president.
The paper's editor, Mahmoud Shams, said it was published under the name Aftab'e Emrooz, with the lead story an account of an attack Saturday on the newspaper's offices by thugs believed tied to ultra-conservative politicians.
Shams told The Associated Press the paper was similar to Tous, which the Justice Department ordered closed Saturday. Tous began publication without missing an issue when its predecessor, Jameah, was ordered shut down July 25.
Shortly before the ban on Tous was served Saturday, militants assaulted the paper's editor and threatened to kill him. They also assaulted two Associated Press reporters who arrived on the scene.
The newspaper also angered hard-liners because it questioned the authority of Iran's spiritual guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The paper asked how an unelected person could wield more power than the president.