The Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Washington, DC, held a press conference Tuesday morning and revealed that the clerical regime has spent enormous energy to pursue an accelerated, systematic and extremely dangerous program to mass-produce biological weapons.

NCR’s U.S. representative Ms. Soona Samsami, provided the names of those in charge of different sections of the biological program.

She revealed that the mullahs are trying to mount biological warheads on ballistic missiles. They have been particularly focusing on increasing production and obtaining mass production capability as well as service and maintenance of the biological weapons.
 
 

Iran Majlis Speaker Opposes U.S. Wheat Imports, Reuter, January 27

TEHRAN—Iran's Majlis speaker on Wednesday opposed any imports of U.S. wheat, saying Tehran should not become dependent on its arch-enemy.

Speaker Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, leader of parliament's majority opposed to Khatami, was reacting to reports that U.S. officials were considering a sanction waiver allowing $500 million of U.S. farm goods to be exported to Iran.

"Which country allows itself to become dependent for its strategic goods on an enemy whose enmity is growing by the day?" Nateq-Nouri said in a parliament session broadcast on Tehran radio.

Iran is a major importer of foodstuffs including wheat, rice, sugar and vegetable oils.
 
 

Deep Divisions among Ruling Mullahs, Agence France Presse, January 26

TEHRAN—Iran is preparing to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, divided over how to perpetuate the legacy of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

But the numerous parades and other official ceremonies planned to underscore the survival of Khomeini's legacy may do little to hide the deep divisions in the ranks of his successors.

A recent spate of grisly murders of writers and dissidents, in which intelligence ministry agents were implicated, has been a most unwelcome reminder of the darkest days of revolutionary terror.
 
 

Iranian Board Rejects Pro-Khatami Candidates, Reuter, January 27

TEHRAN—A screening board has barred several prominent backers of President Khatami from running in Iran's first nationwide local elections next month, newspapers said on Wednesday.

The daily Salam said Abdollah Nouri, a key Khatami ally and former interior minister, moderate newspaper editor Saeid Hajjarian and pro-Khatami student leader Ebrahim Asgharzadeh were among about 50 Tehran candidates rejected by the board dominated by the president's opponents.

The board also barred Azam Taleqani and Abolfazl Bazargan on grounds of lacking commitment to Islam and the principle of "absolute obedience" to Iran's supreme leader, the newspaper added.
 
 

Iranian Currency Continues to Fall, Reuter, January 26

TEHRAN—The Iranian rial has continued to slide against hard currencies, losing another three percent against the dollar, traders and economists said on Tuesday.

On Tehran's illegal but active black market, dealers sold dollars for about 7,750 rials each on Tuesday, compared to 7,500 rials per dollar on Monday. The rial momentarily fell to as low as 7,900 to the dollar late on Monday, dealers said.

The rial has lost about seven percent since Saturday amid expectations of further cuts in the government's hard currency expenditures in the next Iranian year, which begins on March 21, because of falling oil revenues.

The economists also blamed the rial's fall on fears of a possible flurry of price rises in the new Iranian year, partly under the influence of fuel price increases of up to 75 percent approved by Majlis last week.
 
 

Non-Oil Exports Down by Seven Percent, Agence France Presse, January 24

TEHRAN—Income from Iran's non-oil exports has dropped by seven percent in the past nine months despite efforts to revive alternative sectors to make up for falling revenues from oil sales, officials said Sunday.

Iran's non-oil exports have fallen steadily since May 1995, when the former government of president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani imposed a series of regulations to stop the outflow of hard currency and stabilize the rial.

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