TEHRAN - Foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi said here Monday that the Iranian society is making efforts to achieve the objectives of the revolution.

Asked about Iran-U.S. Ties in a press conference attended by domestic and foreign reporters, he said, "Iran's stance towards the U.S. has not changed."

Asked about the death edict issued by… Khomeini against the author, Salman Rushdie, and that revoking of the fatwa was a condition for promotion of Tehran-London ties, Kharrazi said there has never been a word about canceling the fatwa. "those who are familiar with the Islamic laws know well that a fatwa is not revocable," he stressed.

The Foreign Minister said that in New York, Iran and Britain had decided to boost their relations and the Rushdie question is not an obstacle in the way of this decision.

Tehran press reports today quoted "revolutionary organizations and institutions" as urging that "imam Khomeini's historic fatwa against apostate Salman Rushdie must be carried out.

They included the Islamic Propagation Organization, the Martyrs Foundation, the Islamic Revolution's Guards corps and the 15th Khordad Foundation which has set a price for Rushdie's head.
 

Mullahs Sentence Three Baha'is to Death, Associated Press, February 11

WASHINGTON - The Clinton administration criticized Iran on Friday for sentencing to death three Baha'i men who the White House said were condemned because of their religious faith.

President Clinton was deeply troubled by the sentences given Sirus Zabihi-Moghaddam, Hedayet Kashefi-Najafabadi and Manuchehr Khulusi, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said.

"In all three cases, it is clear that the individuals were arrested, charged and sentenced to death solely because of their religious beliefs," Lockhart said. "Executing people for the practice of their religious faith is contrary to the most fundamental human rights principles."

Iran is among seven countries identified by the State Department last year as engaging in "particularly severe" violations of religious freedoms. It has implemented policies to eradicate the faith through imprisoning Baha'i adherents, confiscating and desecrating their holy places and denying them the right to assemble.

"President Clinton continues to hold the Iranian government responsible for the safety of the Baha'i community of Iran and strongly urges that these executions not be carried out," Lockhart said. "We condemn Iranian government persecution of all minority faiths."
 

Pro-Khatami Students Boo Mention of Rafsanjani, Agence France Presse, February 13

TEHRAN - Thousands of Pro-Khatami students Sunday chanted slogans against former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a longtime ally who has hitched his wagon to the star of their conservative opponents in parliamentary elections this week.

"We hate Hashemi," and "The students have woken up," and chanted around 6,000 students gathered in the capital's Shirudi stadium for a rally organized by the Islamic Iran Participation Front. "Political liberalization is impossible with Hashemi," they chanted.
 

Attacks on Offices of Candidates, Agence France Presse

February 11 - Islamic fundamentalists in Iran attacked the office of a candidate for parliament close to Khatami, a newspaper reported Friday.

The office of Ali Tajernia, who is standing in next Friday's elections from the holy city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, was barraged with "incendiary devices," the Asr-e-Azadeghan paper said.

The paper said some office equipment and campaign posters had been destroyed in the attack.
 

February 12 - Several students were wounded when Iranian fundamentalists attacked the election campaign office of a candidate close to Khatami in Tehran, the Hamshahri newspaper reported Saturday.

The election headquarters of Mohammad-Kazem Kuhi, director-general of one of Tehran's main university campuses, were attacked by unknown assailants on Thursday night, the paper said. Kuhi's personal belongings in the office were damaged, Hamshahri said.

Over the past week, several election meetings of the Islamic Iran Participation Front have been attacked by fundamentalist groups in the Caspian Sea province of Gilan and other parts of the country.

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