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Antigovernment protests and strikes in the Iranian month of Mordad (July 23 to August 23), rose to 45, Mojahedin's Command Headquarters inside Iran reported in a statement.
This brings to 198 the number of recorded acts of protest in the first five months of the current Iranian year, starting March 21, triple the same period last year.
The statement reported some of the popular protests in the Iranian month that just ended were as follows: Protest gatherings by workers in light bulb factory in Rasht (northern Iran), Pars textiles in Semnan (east), oil industry and refinery in Abadan (southwest), Ekbatan carpet factory in Qazvin (west), Yassouj sugar factory in Kohkilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad (south), leather factory in Khorrasan (northeast), Iran lumber industry in Tehran; strikes by fuel tanker owners in Tehran, fuel tanker drivers in Isfahan (central Iran), Behshahr textiles (north) and medicine distribution company workers in Isfahan; protest gatherings by 3,000 drivers at Raja'i docks in Bandar Abbas (south), and demonstrations by people in Marivan (west), Najafabad (central Iran) and Bojnoord (northeast).
Mullahs' Attendance at North Korean Missile Launch,
Agence France Presse, September 8
TOKYO - Iran on Tuesday denied it had a delegation present at the launch of a North Korean rocket that overflew Japan last week.
The United States, South Korea and Japan said North Korea test-fired a Taepo-Dong missile with a range of 1,500-2,000 kilometers (930-1,240 miles) on August 31, which overflew Japan before landing in the Pacific Ocean.
A Tokyo-based news agency reported Monday an Iranian delegation may have witnessed the launch in North Korea.
The US intelligence body found evidence that an Iranian team was probably in the Stalinist nation since August 20, the agency quoted anonymous government sources as saying.
An Iranian mission is also believed to have witnessed the May 1993 firing of a Rodong-1 missile, with an estimated range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), into the Sea of Japan, it reported.
Iran Curbs Carpet Production as Prices Fall,
Reuter, September 8
TEHRAN - Falling world carpet prices have prompted Iran to drop state programs to boost the production of Persian rugs, its second hard currency earner after oil, a senior official said in remarks published on Tuesday.
Iran's carpet exports have been plummeting, amounting to $114.1 million in the four months to July 22, thirty percent down year-on-year.
Traders have blamed the fall on tough government currency restrictions and competition from other countries.
Exporters have also criticized government rules allowing Iranians travelling abroad to take with them one carpet each, saying this led to flooded markets.
The fall in the carpet exports, the main item among Iran's non-oil exports, is a blow to the Iranian economy, which is already reeling under a slump in oil prices.
It also hurts Iranian employment. The carpet industry employs about two million people and provides for the livelihood of about 8 million.
U.S. Warns Iran Not to Invade Afghanistan, Agence France Presse, September 8
WASHINGTON - The United States on Tuesday warned Iran not to attack Afghanistan, urging both nations to resolve tensions by engaging in dialogue about the disappearance of Iranian nationals in Afghanistan. That Iran has "deployed significant numbers of troops and equipment" along its border with Afghanistan is "a matter of serious concern," said US State Department spokesman James Rubin.
"We are watching closely. We are urging restraint by all sides," said Rubin. "Afghanistan's neighbors must respect its borders and refrain from interfering in its internal affairs," he said.
Careful to specify that he was not confirming the Iranian allegations of abduction, Rubin also stated that "holding diplomats is unacceptable" and -- if they have been detained -- Iranian diplomats must be freed.
Iran has accused the Taliban of capturing dozens of Iranian nationals, including 10 diplomats and one journalist, during an August offensive against opposing forces in the North of Afghanistan.