Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - Iran on Tuesday marked the third anniversary of the assassination of Fathi Shqaqi, former leader of the radical Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
Mohammad Shariati, an advisor to President Mohammad Khatami, said at an official ceremony "that Palestinian martyrs' blood would pave the way of struggle against the Oslo and Maryland agreements," the state-run agency said.
Iran has condemned last month's Israeli-Palestinian peace deal signed after U.S.-brokered talks in Wye River, Maryland.
Representatives of Islamic Jihad and Lebanon's Hizbollah also addressed the meeting in Tehran, sponsored by Iran's Higher Education Ministry and Islamic Jihad, IRNA said.
Iran has close ties with Islamic Jihad and has named a Tehran street after Shqaqi, who was gunned down in Malta in October 1995. Palestinians blamed Israel for the attack.
The Islamic republic condemns the accords as a sellout of Palestinian rights.
'Limpsmanship' in the Mideast, Wall Street Journal -Europe Edition, November 10
[Excerpts from an article By Ehud Yaari, Middle East commentator for Israel TV]
...It is the Americans--led by CIA officers who were designated at Wye to provide the two limping partners with crutches--who are helping push Mr. Arafat to take measures against terrorist infrastructure.… This leaves the opposition, led by Hamas, with the dilemma of if, how and when to try to destroy the new structure. Hamas leadership has not provided an answer so far.
Iran alone--contrary to all expectations of a new sense of moderation in Tehran--has stepped up its war against the peace process by calling for the assassination of the "traitor" Arafat and instructing, according to Palestinian and Israeli intelligence sources, the Islamic Jihad to pull off a fast attack in downtown Jerusalem, as happened Friday.
At this point, a competition is brewing between American efforts to synchronize Mr. Netanyahu's and Mr. Arafat's limping and the Iranian attempt to generate enough violence to tear the agreement to pieces….
Iran Seeks $3 Billion in Loans to Ease Cash Crunch, Reuter, November 11
TEHRAN - The Iranian government has begun talks with creditors in Japan, Germany and Italy to secure a total of $3 billion in "bridge loans" to stave off possible default, foreign diplomats and trade analysts said.
"They need to get that $3 billion as soon as possible," said an analyst close to the debt talks. "If these three countries cannot help them, then they may have to declare bankruptcy."
Economists, businessmen and diplomats say the crunch is now so acute that the government is virtually out of cash, forcing delays in payment to key Western creditors.
As a result, several high-profile investments, including a $1.2 billion credit underwritten by the Italian government and announced in July, are on hold and may be cancelled outright, the diplomats and businessmen say.
To weather the storm, they say, Iran is in talks with creditors from the three countries, among its top trade partners, to secure $1 billion each in fresh financing. This is in addition to some $1.5 billion already put up by France.
"There is not enough to cover strategic imports and to pay the debts," said one foreign analyst.
The specter of one of the world's leading oil exporters teetering on the brink reflects a series of inter-related problems. Chief among these are:
* Persistently low prices for crude oil, which provides Iran with about 80 percent of its hard currency revenues.
* An imposing, but temporary, mountain of debt, largely left over from a major rescheduling in 1992-1993.
* The failure to tackle the economy's structural problems, including its over-reliance on oil revenue.
Iran Hauls Satellite TV Gear, Reuter, November 11
TEHRAN - Iranian police, suspecting something fishy about a cargo of tuna tins, uncovered 255 banned satellite television receivers, a newspaper said on Wednesday.
The Islamic republic banned satellite television in 1995, blaming it for a Western "cultural invasion."
But many Iranians still watch foreign television stations by using satellite dishes camouflaged as air-conditioners or other equipment.