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TEHRAN - State radio said the fact that four Hamas leaders were out of the country was a sign the Palestinians had advance warning of Monday's arrests.
But it did not mention reports that the four, for whom arrest warrants were issued in Amman on Monday, are in Iran.
"Jordan has for some time been trying to make its relations with the Palestinian Authority more transparent," it said, adding that the crackdown would not have any effect on the Palestinian movement.
The commentary's strongest words were reserved for the timing of the crackdown, which comes just before US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's visit to the region as the Israelis and Palestinians seek to hammer out an agreement on the implementation of last year's Wye River accord.
"The timing shows Jordan's cooperation with the Zionist regime to suppress the Palestinian movement," it said. The hardline Hamas is opposed to any Palestinian peace agreement with the Jewish state.
Meanwhile a Hamas spokesman refused
all comment on reports that the four men wanted by Jordanian police are
in Iran, which supports the militant group.
Khatami Reportedly Orders to Counter U.S. "Veiled Threat", Xinhua, August 30
TEHRAN - Mohammad Khatami has reportedly asked a "top decision-making body" to send a strong reply to the United States in response to its recent "veiled threat."
"Tehran Times" newspaper on Monday quoted an informed source as saying the "veiled threat" was contained in a letter the U.S. sent via Oman, which has cordial relations with Iran.
The letter, reportedly pertaining to regional issues, was brought to Iran by Oman's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Yusef Bin Alavi more than 10 days ago. But when "Tehran Times" broke the news on August 18, the Foreign Ministry was quick to deny it.
On the reason for sending the message
via Oman, "Tehran Times" quoted an observer as saying Washington was trying
to woo the support of the British lobby in the Persian Gulf region.
Worries about Beginning of New Academic Year and Students’ Uprising, State-Controlled Daily Tehran Times, September 1
TEHRAN - Director General of Tehran University Dormitory expressed hope that, before the commencement of the new academic year, those who were involved in the attack on the dormitory will be put on trial….
He added that a large number of foreign students who were studying at the university gave up their studies and some others remaining in Iran have been transferred to Shaheed Beheshti University…
Director general of the dormitory said the students' complaints sent to the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces have not yet been examined… One of the students present during the visit of the reporters told the Tehran Times that the report released by the Investigation Committee was not complete.
The student, who spoke on condition
of anonymity, added that the report covers only 15 hours of the incident,
without alluding to the events which broke out until 10 am on Friday, whereas
many of the clashes occurred on Friday...
Iran Paper Calls for Live TV Debates Before Elections, Agence France Presse, August 25
TEHRAN - An Iranian newspaper on Wednesday urged state television to broadcast live debates between leading scholars to help voters make better choices in next spring's key parliamentary elections.
Such debates were common in the early days after the 1979 Islamic revolution but were discontinued in a bid to maintain national unity during the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, it said.
Iran's state television and radio are largely dominated by conservatives.
A conservative-led crackdown has closed three leading pro-Khatami dailies since the beginning of the year and dozens of journalists have been arrested or brought in for questioning.
The judiciary, also dominated by the regime's conservatives, earlier this month presented a draconian draft bill that could make many forms of free speech subject to possible prosecution as crimes against the state.
The measure outlaws "any contact or exchange of information, interviews or collusion with foreign embassies, organizations, parties or media, at whatever level, which could be judged harmful to Iran's independence, national unity or the interests of the Islamic republic."