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TEHRAN - The death edict against Salman Rushdie cannot be revoked and the British author's "insulting remarks" will increase the hatred of Moslems towards him, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday.
The statement was made by Mahmoud Mohammadi, who is tipped to be Iran's new ambassador to Britain following their agreement to upgrade diplomatic relations. Kayhan, an influential hardline daily, called on the government to carry out the fatwa and kill Rushdie.
"The government and statesmen of the Islamic Republic of Iran...have the duty to prepare the grounds and implement this edict, and it is evident that they should not and cannot give the least guarantee on preventing the execution of this edict," it said in an editorial.
Tehran radio quoted the foreign ministry spokesman as saying the promotion of relations between Iran and Britain could be analyzed in the framework of world developments and the international community's new understanding of realities in Iran.
"At the same time, the irrevocability of the late Imam's edict is a fact," the radio quoted Mahmoudi as saying.
The hardline conservative newspaper Jomhuri Eslami said on Sunday the edict was still effective and nothing had changed to Rushdie's benefit.
"But maybe the optimism of Rushdie and his supporters would pave the way and accelerate the execution of the edict," it added.
Rushdie Still in Danger - Iran Press, Defense Minister, Reuter, September 26
TEHRAN - British author Salman Rushdie cannot afford to let down his guard despite a deal between London and Tehran over a religious death order, hardline conservative newspapers in Iran said on Saturday.
Rushdie's life is still in danger, one newspaper said, and another noted that a $2.5 million bounty for his execution was still on offer.
Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani, speaking to reporters in Tehran, said: "I do not think any change (in Iran's position) has taken place."
The hardline daily Jomhuri Eslami said in a commentary: "The government of the Islamic Republic has never stepped down from its position regarding the execution of Salman Rushdie, and whoever, in whatever position has said otherwise, it is his personal view. The bounty for Rushdie's killing has been approved by the Imam, and no one can oppose it."
It added: "The British are unreliable elements as always... The British who are the fathers of Americans should be termed Satan's fathers...and in confronting Satan, one should never do away with caution."
A columnist in the English daily Kayhan International noted that "Any Moslem, including this writer and even (Foreign Minister) Kamal Kharrazi, as an individual, will not hesitate for a fraction of a second to implement the fatwa against the apostate Rushdie if he gets the opportunity -- in any part of the world, including Britain," the columnist said.
Iran News said in an editorial the Rushdie deal was the same position as three years ago when then President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Iran did not intend to kill Rushdie and had no part in the bounty.
Iran News took British and other Western media to task for "trying to twist the truth and make it look like Iran relented."
It warned that pursuing that line was dangerous for Iran-UK relations and might also endanger the cooperation of Iran and the West in forcing the Taleban militia to abide by international norms of conduct.
Iran Plans Longer-Range Missiles, Associated Press, September 26
TEHRAN - Iran plans to develop a missile to outdistance its predecessor, which is already capable of striking Israel or U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, the Iranian defense minister said Saturday.
Iran displayed its medium-range Shahab-3 missile during a military parade Friday. The missile, which Iran tested in July, has a range of 800 miles.
Shamkhani [regime's Defense Minister] would not say how many missiles Iran possessed, but indicated that Iran could produce as many as it needed.
Netanyahu Wants Pressure on Iran Over Missiles, Reuter, September 27
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Sunday for international pressure on arch-foe Iran to stop it developing ballistic missiles.
Netanyahu made the remark two days after Iran showed for the first time its latest medium-range missile, the Shehab-3, which has enough range to reach Israel.
"The time has come...to organize the international community against the Iranian ballistic threat. It threatens all of us and international peace," he said.
The slogans "Israel should be wiped out from the map" and "The U.S.A. can do nothing" were printed in Persian and English on other missile launchers driven slowly past the commanders.