Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - Iranians close to President Mohammad Khatami sharply protested on Thursday the rejection of their candidates for a crucial upcoming election.
The Council of Guardians, a conservative clergy-dominated body which screens electoral hopefuls in the Islamic republic, rejected 247 candidates out of 396, most of them Khatami supporters.
The "Kargozaran" (Servants) organization said in a statement the "prevention of a large number of competent scholars and religious personalities from running is contrary to the sublime principles of the Islamic system and aspirations of its supreme founder."
Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, the secretary of the Council of Guardians, said the council would not give the reasons for the rejection of the candidates in a bid to "prevent tension."
He said some of the hopefuls were "affiliated" with the outlawed People's Mujahedeen, the main armed opposition group or had "records for criminal activities or drug addiction."
U.S. Accuses Iran of Persecuting Religious Minority, Associated Press, October 1
WASHINGTON - Accusing Iran of persecuting the Baha'is, the State Department said Thursday two members of the faith were in imminent danger of execution in Khorasan province and 32 others had been arrested throughout the country.
According to a spokeswoman for the American Baha'is, Kit Cosby, four Baha'is were sentenced to death early this year in Mashhad on grounds of conducting family life classes and converting a Muslim to the Baha'i faith.
One was executed in July, Two recently had their death sentences reconfirmed and the fourth's sentence was commuted to 10 years in prison.
For months, the Clinton administration has been trying to engage Tehran in a dialogue, based on the judgment by some senior U.S. officials that President Mohamad Khatami represents a moderate strain in Iranian policy-making.
The overture was brushed aside Monday by Foreign Minister Kemal Kharrazi.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is in the United States said in July that more than 200 elected community leaders had been executed in Iran since 1979, solely on account of religion.
Baha'i students have been barred from universities since the early 1980s.
Iran's Long-Range Missile Plans, The Washington Times, October 1
Iran is pushing ahead with a multibillion-dollar program to develop missiles capable of reaching American cities, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week.
Mr. Netanyahu, speaking to a small group of reporters in Washington on Monday, identified the missiles as the Shahab-5 and Shahab-6.
Iran in July announced it successfully had tested a missile with a range of 800 miles. U.S. officials identified it as a medium-range Shahab-3, capable of striking Israel, Saudi Arabia or Turkey.
Mr. Netanyahu said the Shahab-5 and Shahab-6 would extend that range and have the capability "to reach the Eastern seaboard" of the United States….
"Iran is developing the Shahab-4, which can reach well into Europe, and the Shahab-5 and 6, which [will have the capability] to reach the Eastern seaboard [of the United States]," he said.
"They are building an enormous infrastructure [including] hardened missile silos," which can house the missiles and protect them against any U.S. or Israeli pre-emptive strikes, he added….
Iran Withdraws 60 Diplomats, United Press International, October 1
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Iranian diplomats and their family members -- about 60 people all together -- have left Islamabad. This is the first time Iran has withdrawn diplomats from Pakistan and the Pakistani government says it has not been informed of why Iran recalled its mission, but it is feared to be signal that the Iranians plan to invade Afghanistan. Iran believes Pakistan is supporting the Taliban militia, which has control over Afghanistan.
Iran Suspends Pro-Khatami Weekly Newspaper, Agence France Presse, October 1
TEHRAN - Iranian authorities have temporarily closed a newspaper, accusing it of publishing lies and acting against national security, another newspaper reported Thursday.
Navid-e-Esfahan, a weekly newspaper published in the central city of Esfahan, was accused of "acting against the country's security, publishing lies and disturbing public opinion as well as promoting opposition groups," Salam newspaper reported.
The closure of the weekly came amid a crackdown on publications supportive of President Mohammad Khatami.