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Three senior Iranian clerics have said the fatwa, or religious edict, calling for the death of British author Salman Rushdie's death is irrevocable and must be implemented.
The statement comes just days after Britain and Iran agreed to restore their diplomatic relations to ambassadorial level after the Iranian Foreign Minister said his government would not pursue the fatwa...
"I heard that England is under the illusion that the fatwa against the apostate Rushdie will be revoked," Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani said in a statement.
"This fatwa is irrevocable and cannot be changed at any time. It is obligatory to carry out the fatwa."
Nouri Hamedani, another Grand Ayatollah, said the fatwa must be enforced and no high-ranking Muslim scholar can issue a fatwa to reverse it.
Ayatollah Hossein Mazaheri, who is a representative for Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also said the edict remains valid.
"The execution of the divine death sentence remains a duty for every Muslim until the day of resurrection," he said…
One of the two main right-wing newspapers in Tehran, Jumhouri Islami, said that nothing had changed to the benefit of Mr. Rushdie. His wishful thinking, it said, might actually hasten the implementation of the fatwa.
Another newspaper, Kayhan, which is generally seen as reflecting the views of the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attacked Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi.
It said he must clarify the situation immediately, lest the country find itself with a government which was opposing Islam.
On Sunday, foreign ministry spokesman Mahmoud Mohammedi said recent government moves did not mean that the fatwa no longer applied.
He then launched a bitter attack on Mr. Rushdie accusing him of making further insulting remarks that would increase the hatred of Muslims towards him.
The BBC Correspondent in Tehran says that the backlash in Iran is making the British agreement with Iran look much shakier than it did at first, and the issue seems to be stirring up a hornet's nest in Iranian politics.
Rafsanjani's Daughter on Trial Over Press Charges, Agence France Presse, September 28
TEHRAN - Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, appeared before a court on Monday, accused of publishing "lies" in her newspaper, witnesses said.
Hashemi has been sued by several officials including General Mohammad Naqdi, the commander of the intelligence unit of the police forces.
Naqdi has accused Hashemi's Zan newspaper of publishing lies after it accused the general of having links with Islamic extremist groups.
The paper said recently that it had spotted the general at the scene of an attack launched by vigilantes on two leading officials -- Vice President Abdollah Nuri and Culture Minister Ataollah Mohajerani.
After hearing testimony from Hashemi, the court adjourned until next week to allow a witness to Naqdi's alleged presence at the scene to testify.
Iran Bans Daily, Magazine for Insulting Khomeini, Reuters, September 28
TEHRAN - Iran on Monday banned a major opposition newspaper and a magazine for insulting Khomeini, Iranian state media reported.
"The press supervisory board...unanimously revoked the license of the Tous newspaper and handed over its case to the press court," the official news agency IRNA agency reported.
The move formalized the closure of the outspoken daily, which was shut earlier this month by an Islamic revolutionary court which also ordered the arrest of several of its staff on unspecified charges of acting against Iran's security.
The press board ruled that Tous had insulted Khomeini by publishing an interview with former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, in which he said Khomeini had sought political asylum in France after arriving in Paris before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iranian television said a court in Tehran banned the intellectual monthly Jamee Salem after finding it guilty of charges including "altering remarks of the honored Imam (Khomeini) and publishing them in an insulting way."
Drug Addiction At "National Threat" Level - Official, Agence France Presse, September 17
TEHRAN - Iran's drug czar Mohammad Fallah warned Thursday that drug addiction has become a "national threat" in Iran.
Fallah said drug addiction in Iran has reached alarming proportions.
"To prevent addiction, we must understand the 'national threat.' This way we can complete more fundamental tasks," he said.