The mullahs' regime admitted today that the criminal bomb blast in the northeastern city of Mashad on September 17, 1999, was carried out by its own Ministry of Intelligence agents.

The Armed Forces Judicial Organization said in a statement today that the perpetrators of the recent bomb blast in the holy city of Mashad, who are among the agents in the gang led by Saeed Emami and Mostafa Kazemi, have been arrested.

The bomb, which was placed in one of the busiest places in the city, killed two innocent people and wounded several others.

It is the first time that the clerical regime admits to criminal bombings perpetrated by the Intelligence Ministry. These shocking admissions disclose the role of the Intelligence Ministry in scores of similar bombings in public places in different cities across the country. These include the heinous bomb explosion at the holy shrine of Imam Reza in Mashad on June 20, 1994, which killed scores of innocent pilgrims, as well as hundreds of other terrorist operations in and out of Iran.

In light of this new admission by the Intelligence Ministry, the Iranian Resistance again calls on the United Nations Secretary General and the Security Council to dispatch a fact-finding mission, accompanied by representatives of the Iranian Resistance, to Iran to investigate into the criminal bomb explosions in recent years, political murders in Iran and the assassination of a large number of dissidents abroad.
 

Faced with Prospect of more unrest, Regime Resorts to hollow show of Force in Tehran, Agence France Presse, November 17

TEHRAN - Some 30,000 members of the Basij will hold a rally in Tehran next Wednesday, the daily Kayhan announced. The rally will be part of "Basiji week," the paper said Wednesday.

Basijis do not wear a uniform, and recognize only the authority of Ali Khamenei.

"Their activities follow the Leader's line and they are not affiliated to any group or any faction," said Haidar Maslahi, Khamenei's representative to the militia, quoted by Kayhan.

"The Basiji are the best forces to fight against conspiracy and cultural invasion," he said.

"During this week, the Basijis will try to get more closely acquainted with the daily problems of society, and that means getting acquainted with the plots of the arrogant ones," he said.

The club-wielding militiamen helped anti-riot police put down student riots which shook the country in July.
 

Parliament Bans TV Cameras from Chamber, Reuters, November 15

TEHRAN - Iran's parliament has banned TV cameras from the chamber to discourage publicity-hungry deputies from making numerous speeches ahead of February elections, newspapers reported.

The daily Azad said the assembly's presiding board on Sunday banned the cameras, taping the debate on a five-year economic plan for extended coverage on a new all-news state TV channel, to prevent "publicity by some deputies who repeatedly introduced amendments."

Some MPs supported the move, complaining about the TV crew's bright lights or accusing the state media's coverage of being politically biased, newspapers said.
 

Mullahs' Leader Says US "Drunk With Materialism", Associated Press, November 13

DUBAI -Iran's supreme leader said Saturday the United States is "drunk with materialism" and accused Washington of suppressing anyone who stood in its way, Iran's official news agency said.

"Humanity has always been afflicted throughout history with powers who have been drunk with materialism and self-centeredness," Ali Khamenei said in an address to the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Khamenei called on Iranians not to be "deceived by certain elements who try to encourage the opponents of the system by giving them publicity and all sorts of moral and material support."
 

Tehran Air Pollution Reaches Alarming Levels, Reuters, November 16

TEHRAN - Tehran authorities have told children and the elderly to avoid going outside unless necessary because air pollution in the Iranian capital has reached alarming levels, state radio said on Tuesday.

The Tehran Environmental Protection Department urged children and heart and asthma patients to stay indoors as a thick cloud of smog descended on one of the most polluted cities in the world.
 

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