Agence France Presse, January 9 - Iran's Mujahadeen opposition claimed Sunday that its fighters had killed or wounded "dozens" of Tehran's elite Revolutionary Guards in attacks on three areas of the southwestern province of Ilam.

"Dozens of Revolutionary Guards and Intelligence Ministry officers and agents, including several commanders, were killed or wounded in these attacks, which also inflicted heavy damages to the command centers' buildings and facilities," in fighting Saturday, the People's Mujahedeen said in a statement.

The Mujahedeen "went on to engage Revolutionary Guards and Basij forces in different districts of the city and in the ensuing clashes the mullahs' forces suffered heavy casualties," the statement said.

A Mujahadeen spokesman in London told AFP by phone that Saturday's operation "mark a significant escalation of Mujahedeen attacks on military and intelligence targets in Iran...

"The military blows to the mullahs' regime have been evident from their reaction both on the battlefield and in their propaganda war against the resistance," said People's Mujahedeen spokesman Farzin Hashemi.

Associated Press, January 9 - One (State-run) newspaper, Kayhan, said the rebels fired mortar rounds into Ilam, but gave no further details.

The Mujahedeen Khalq has more than 30,000 men and women with military training in camps in Iraq near the Iranian border.

There have been several attacks by the Mujahedeen Khalq guerrillas in recent months.

"The security forces have recently shown a weakness in controlling attacks" by the Mujahedeen, the Kayhan newspaper said.

The Mojahedin Command inside Iran, January 9 - Three commanders of the Revolutionary Guards' paramilitary Bassij - identified as Ghobad Mansour-Beigi, Reza Molai and Alireza Ali-Hosseini - were among those killed in the clashes. Four other Guardsmen wounded during clashes between Mojahedin's units and the regime's suppressive forces throughout the city of Ilam, were Abdollah Shekar-Beiki, Taqi Safar-Beiki, Yousef-Ali Hosseini and Abbas Bashirzadeh…

The Intelligence Ministry fabricated a report to be used by the state-run media to claim that those killed in the clashes with the Mojahedin were unarmed villagers visiting each other on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
 

More Than 200 of Antigovernment Demonstrators Wounded in Tabriz, Iran Zamin News Agency, January 8

The clerical regime's Revolutionary Guards opened fire on thousands of demonstrators in the northwestern city of Tabriz who were protesting against the mullahs' repressive policies. More than 200 protesters were wounded and 50 were arrested.

The demonstration and the ensuing clashes began at 1 pm and went on for four hours. Demonstrators started their protests in the city's Chehelmetri district and spread to other neighborhoods, reaching as far as Davachi district.

Units of Revolutionary Guards were dispatched to the scene to disperse the protesters. They countered the demonstrators by firing tear-gas first and then began shooting at the crowd with live ammunition.
 

Mullahs' Leader Mocks US Role as Broker of Middle East Talks, Again Shows Regime's Animosity towards Peace, Agence France Presse, January 8

TEHRAN - Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei Saturday mocked Washington's central role in peace talks in the United States between Israel and its main Middle East ally Syria.

"One of the misfortunes of the Islamic world is that the United States, which openly backs the Zionist regime, poses as a mediator," Khamenei told Iranian officials and Islamic diplomats.

"It's quite absurd for the United States to adopt the role of mediator when its hostility towards the Arab states is known throughout the world," Khamenei said.

Since the resumption of peace talks between Syria and Israel late last year after a nearly four year break, Khamenei has been increasingly open in his criticism of Iran's oldest and closest regional ally.

On New Year's Eve, as Iran celebrated "World Jerusalem Day," he slammed Syrian and Palestinian leaders for holding peace talks with Israel and insisted the Jewish State should be "wiped off the map of the world."
 

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