Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - Khatami on Thursday hailed the volunteer Islamic Basiji militia for their role in ending last month's bloody unrest in Tehran. "The Basiji guarantee the nation's security and all ranks of society should be represented within it," said Khatami, who was given an honorary membership card from the militia during a ceremony with its commanders in Tehran.
He hailed the Basiji for helping to restore order during the July disturbances and said that along with security forces they had "demonstrated the authority of the regime."
"They remain as a symbol of the Islamic revolution" and are "guardians of our national interests and not just those of political factions," said Khatami, cited by the official IRNA news agency.
Earlier this month some 50,000 Basiji
troops staged maneuvers in the hills around the capital as a show of strength
following last month's disturbances, the worst here since the aftermath
of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
China Agrees to Deal With Iran on Missiles, The Washington Times, August 19
China recently signed an $11 million deal to improve Iran's anti-ship missiles, an agreement that again raises questions about Beijing's 1998 promise not to supply Tehran with cruise missiles or technology, The Washington Times has learned.
The contract was revealed in intelligence reports sent to senior Clinton administration policy-makers last month.
Pentagon officials familiar with the report said the deal will involve transfers of technology to upgrade Iran's FL-10 anti-ship cruise missile.
The short-range FL-10s are being modified by the Chinese to be fired from Iranian attack helicopters and fast patrol boats that could threaten U.S. or allied warships, or oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, the officials said.
One of the missiles was tested successfully from a helicopter in the Gulf of Oman in March, the officials said ...
Iran in the past has bought Chinese C-801 and C-802 anti-ship cruise missiles ....
The land-based C-801 has a range of
25 miles, while the C-802 can hit targets up to 75 miles away. The C-802s
were sold in 1996 along with Chinese-made missile-firing patrol boats ...
Fearful of Public Reaction, Mullahs Backtrack in Holiday Dispute, Reuters, August 19
TEHRAN - Iran's conservative-dominated parliament has backtracked on a decision to drop a national holiday in the face of an uproar seen as a sign of growing nationalist fervor in the Islamic republic.
Parliament speaker Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri was quoted by newspapers on Thursday as saying he would work towards reversing the assembly's unpopular decision, which also meant that Iranians would have to work on their New Year's Eve.
Parliament voted on Tuesday to drop March 19, marking Iran's nationalization of its oil industry in 1951, as a public holiday.
"The motion was in bad taste. This is a day marking our struggle against colonialism and oppression. Our friends did not pay attention to this point; more care should have been exercised," said Nateq-Nouri, a leading conservative.
The day is emblematic of nationalist struggle against Britain, which controlled Iran's oil industry until 1951 when then Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq nationalized the source of the country's greatest natural wealth.
Mossadeq has become the symbol of secular nationalist aspirations, which have been reviving after being suppressed under the shah and the Islamic republic.
Parliament's move was also sensitive because it came on the eve of the anniversary of the anti-Mossadeq coup on August 19.
Mossadeq's portraits are often featured
in reformist newspapers, and democratic nationalist themes dominate slogans
at student protests against the conservative establishment.
Five Journalists Reported To Be Held In Iran, Reuters, August 17
PARIS - Media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (RsF) on Tuesday voiced concern over reports that five journalists had been detained in Iran since late July.
The Paris-based group said reports of the arrests had not been confirmed.
It named the journalists as Javad Emami and Mohamad Massoud Salamati of the banned weekly Hoviyat-e-Khich, Ali Mehri and Orouj Amiri of the weekly Omid Zanjani, and freelance Mehti Khaki Firose.
RsF asked President Mohammad Khatami to order the release of the five.