The Washington, DC office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran issued a statement today indicating that Iranians residing in the United States staged a gathering in front of the French embassy in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, to protest the proposed trip to Paris by the mullahs' president, Mohammad Khatami. In a resolution, they called for the cancellation of Khatami's visit, scheduled in April, declaring that the clerical regime is devoid of legitimacy among the Iranian people, who are represented only by the National Council of Resistance and its President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.

The Iranian protesters described Khatami as one of the figureheads involved in the recent wave of assassinations of writers and dissidents in Iran. "The efforts by Khatami and other authorities to conceal the identities of the real culprits, are indicative how deceitful Khatami's slogans of 'civil society' and the 'rule of law' are. Likewise, Khatami's emphasis on the importance of the Intelligence Ministry and praise of its murderers and torturers, all attest that when it comes to repression of the people and depriving them of their democratic rights, the ruling mullahs are all the same," the protesters said.

The resolution added: "The demonstration by 5,000 supporters of the Resistance and their series of activities protesting Khatami's visit to Italy, coupled with the objection to this trip by the majority of the Italian parliament, clearly indicated to what extent he is hated by Iranians and the world public."

Carrying placards decrying Khatami and other leaders of the regime, the Iranians highlighted the record of the clerical regime's crimes during Khatami's tenure, including 310 executions, 8 cases of stoning in Iran and 28 assassinations abroad.

"Rather than basing its policy on these murderers, France would do better to side with the Iranian people and their aspirations for democracy and human rights in Iran. The right policy is support for the National Council of Resistance of Iran and its President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi," the resolution read.
 
 

Iran Denounces U.S. During Haj, Reuter, March 24

Iran's official media said on Wednesday a group of pilgrims shouted slogans against Israel and the United States at the Grand Mosque during the annual haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

The official Iranian news agency IRNA said: "Saudi security forces entered the mosque following demonstrations by a number of haj pilgrims...who circled the holy Kaaba, voicing their hatred of the U.S. and the Zionist regime."

Iran state radio also reported that a group of pilgrims had chanted slogans in Arabic against Israel and the United States for five minutes as they circled the cube-shaped Kaaba in the center of the Grand Mosque.

"They chanted 'Death to Israel' and 'Death to America' and called on Moslems to unite," the radio said.

Iran holds a rally denouncing Israel and the United States at the annual pilgrimage every year. This year, Iran invited pilgrims from other countries to take part in the "disavowal of infidels" ceremony.
 
 

Clerical Regime's Role in Political Murders in Najaf Seminary Revealed, Iran Zamin News Agency, March 21

Four of the assassins arrested for murdering Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq Sadr and his two sons, in Iraq, made explicit confessions and revealed details about the order issued by the Iranian regime to assassinate Ayatollah Sadr. The role of the clerical regime was thus revealed in the political murders in the Najaf Seminary, Iraq.

One of the assassins Ahmed Mostafa Ardebili, born in Najaf in 1964, was arrested in the city of Kirkuk. He said that following the 1991 unrest in Iraq, "we went to Kuwait and were flown from Kuwait to Tehran on Iran Air. Upon arrival in Tehran, I began working in the propaganda section of the Supreme Assembly of Islamic Revolution (Iraqi opposition). In 1994, I went to northern Iraq and stayed there."

Heydar Ali Hussein said he and his brother subsequently went to Ahwaz in Iran, where they "stayed in a house with persons affiliated with the headquarters of the Supreme Assembly of Islamic Revolution in Iraq, who were in contact with the Fajr Garrison and worked under their supervision."
 
 

Iran's Pistachios Face Their Own Woes, Reuter, March 22

The famous Iranian pistachio, Iran's biggest hard currency earner after oil and Persian carpets, is at the center of export problems caused by a debate over contamination. Newspapers have warned of the dubious quality of the under-priced nuts, saying they could be contaminated by the highly toxic aflatoxin B1, a carcinogen produced by moulds.

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