A big gunfight between a group of Revolutionary Guards and Air Force personnel of the 7th Fighter-Transport Air Force Base of the mullahs' regime in Soltan-Abad region near the southern city of Shiraz on Tuesday left at least three Air Force servicemen dead and more than 15 men wounded from both sides. The dead were identified as Reza Etemadi, Mohammad Obeidi Kazerouni and Seyyed Javad Aminian.

What sparked the attack was the Air Force's seizure of a plot of land near the village of Soltan-Abad to build a new runway. The land's ownership was claimed by the Revolutionary Guards, who took the Air Force personnel by surprise and opened fire on them. The gunfight escalated rapidly and both sides entrenched themselves and exchanged fire with automatic weapons.
 

Danger of Euphoria about "Reformers", Irish Times, February 22

A few cautionary notes are in order amid the euphoria over the reformers' victory. First, remember Rafsanjani. In the early 1990s… Rafsanjani was viewed as a moderate who was going to open up his country. The optimism was… enough to draw some foreign investment, much of which went into the pockets of corrupt officials.

Women in Tehran told me they had counted on Mr. Rafsanjani to give them more freedom, yet his eight years in office now seems a dark period...

There are other reasons for caution. Although Mr. Khatami repeats that he is merely a representative of the people, a sort of personality cult is rising around him…

There is also a danger that the 18 political parties which participated in the election (many under the reformist banner) will bicker once they enter the new Majlis in May.
 

A Hidden Hand in the Breakdown of Peace, Time Magazine, February 21

At least one foreign power is shedding no tears over the faltering Middle East peace process. Last fall, administration sources tell TIME, Iran called leaders of the terrorist groups… to Tehran and urged them to coordinate their attacks against Israel in the hope of derailing then promising peace overtures. "They were pulling together their terrorist friends to try to destroy the process," says an administration official…

Administration hawks say the attacks show that Iran remains committed to state-sponsored terrorism... Sources say the Iranian intelligence service, MOIS, which had stepped away from involvement with terrorists, has re-entered the fray by allowing its elite KUDZ force — special teams that support terror — to join in attacks.
 

Reuters, February 23 - Rafsanjani, who headed the conservative and centrist tickets, has finished 29th in the race for Tehran's 30 seats in parliament.

The Guardian, February 22 - Equally important is that there remains a common interest between most conservatives and reformists - to maintain the Islamic nature of the regime. In part, their differences have arisen out of a debate about how best to preserve the revolution.

Associated Press, February 23 - The Clinton administration said it is opposed to any World Bank loans for Iran until the Persian Gulf country pursues economic reform and abandons support of terrorism.

Dow Jones News, February 23 -The Clinton administration Wednesday is reacting cautiously to last week's elections in Iran by saying it wants better ties with Iran but also saying its conditions for better ties haven't changed. White House spokesman Joe Lockhart rejected comments by some in Iran that the U.S. must take the first step towards better ties with some concrete gesture.

Associated Press, February 23 - The Senate is taking up legislation that would strengthen the hand of the president in punishing Russia and others that aid Iran's weapons programs. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said the situation is still "quite scary. Iran's leaders now and in the future would be in the possession of nuclear-tipped ICBMS capable of reaching Washington or Los Angeles or New York."

Reuters, February 23 - Iran will launch ten days of air, land and sea maneuvers on both sides of the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, naval commanders said. Ali Akbar Ahmadian, commander of the naval arm of the Revolutionary Guards said "The United States thought that by pressuring China not to transfer the know-how of the C-802 naval missile to Iran, we would not be able to make it operational, but this year we will deploy a modified and advanced version of the missile."

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