After a three-day silence, the Iranian regime today acknowledged the extensive offensive by Mojahedin units against its suppressive forces in Kermanshah and Ilam provinces in western Iran.

In its 4:00 p.m. news bulletin, the state radio reported: "Western regions of Iran were attacked by mortars on Sunday morning. In this mortar attack, many locations in Sumar and Khosravi in Kermanshah province were targeted."

The Mojahedin's Command Headquarters inside Iran announced on Sunday that more than 50 units of the Mojahedin had launched a major military offensive in Kermanshah and Ilam provinces. In the attacks, code-named "Great Bahman (February)", which lasted for several hours, Mojahedin combatants carried out a series of 12 operations with 120mm and 82mm mortars and 107mm rockets. They inflicted heavy casualties and material damages on the enemy's military centers belonging to the 81st Armored and the 16th armored Divisions and the 23rd Nohed (Special Forces) Division. All these military units were on full alert.
 

Elections Results Will Not Make Any Difference, Reuters, February 8

TEHRAN - A conservative leader played down on Tuesday the importance of this month's parliamentary elections in Iran, saying fundamental policies would remain the same regardless of the poll result.

"If there are some people who are after reform or change in the foundation of our Islamic system, they should know (they) will hear a big no," Mohammad-Reza Bahonar, the leader of a right-wing coalition, told a news conference.
 

Khamenei Says Iran's Election Is A "Slap In The Mouth" For The United States, Reuters, February 8

WASHINGTON - The United States, in its most explicit comment yet on parliamentary elections in Iran this month, said Tuesday it hoped they would help bring together the two countries, which broke off ties 20 years ago.

Anti-Americanism remains a popular theme for some Iranians despite a gradual decline from the enthusiasm of the Islamic revolution against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran in 1979.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for example, said last week that Iranians would deliver a "slap in the mouth" of the United States by voting in large numbers in the parliamentary elections on Feb. 18.

After the election in 1997 of Mohammad Khatami, the United States hoped for a rapprochement with its former ally.

But U.S. officials were discouraged when the hard-liners who hold many of the levers of power made clear they did not plan any change in their hostile attitude toward the United States.
 

Iran Calls For More Violence In The Middle East, Agence France Presse, February 8

TEHRAN - The Tehran daily Kayhan International on Tuesday slammed Israel's "terrorist" action in Lebanon and urged Palestinians to take the lead from Hezbollah and confront Israel to secure real peace.

"The Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, or any other Palestinian group engaged in active resistance ... are legitimate freedom fighters and have a mission to accomplish," the newspaper said.

"It is erroneous to call them terrorists when the real terrorist is the Zionist regime which ought not to be in Palestine," it said.
 

Compelling Evidence on Collapsing Economy In Iran, Reuters, February 8

TEHRAN - The rough-and-tumble politics of Iran's factional struggle has pushed key economic issues off the agenda of next week's parliamentary polls.

At the same time, annual inflation, at around 20 percent, remains a constant worry, while unemployment is rampant, particularly in less-developed areas.

Figures published on Tuesday showed unemployment ranging from 31 percent in Lorestan province, in the west, to a low of 8.8 percent in Semnan province, to the north.

"We are now in an economic paradox," said economist and commentator Saeed Leylaz. "There is a lot of social tension and we need a minimum six percent growth rate per year to relieve this tension."

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