Ten military units of the Mojahedin carried out seven operations this morning in Iran's southwestern province of Ilam, attacking military targets over a wide area. The operations, mainly in Dehloran area, were code-named "Ilam Spring."

This brings to 75 the number of military centers and targets which have been attacked by Mojahedin units in different provinces in Iran in the past 100 days.

The Mojahedin units poured a heavy barrage of 120-mm and 82-mm mortars on their targets, while in some cases they set up ambushes and booby traps for the mullahs' suppressive agents, inflicting heavy casualties and considerable damage to the 23rd Special Airborne Division and the State Security Forces in Dehloran
 

Khatami's Top Ally Shot And Wounded, Reuters, March 12

TEHRAN - Saeed Hajjarian, a former deputy intelligence minister and a close aide to Mohammad Khatami, was shot and seriously wounded on Sunday by attackers who fled on a motorcycle, witnesses said.

They said Hajjarian had been hit in the face from a distance of less than three yards. IRNA said he was in the intensive care unit at a nearby hospital suffering from a swelling of the brain and respiratory problems.

The attack followed what associates said were a number of written threats in recent weeks on Hajjarian's life by hardliners, some of whom have been linked to the serial murders of dissident intellectuals.

"I think this marks an unhappy start for the new phase of political life in Iran. I am worried for the future," said economist and editor Saeed Leylaz.

Hajjarian joined the Intelligence Ministry from its inception in 1984, and served as a deputy minister before leaving shortly before the new president, Rafsanjani, brought in his own security team in 1989.

Witnesses told Reuters the two assailants had been cruising nearby on a 1000 cc motorcycle. This size of machine is outlawed in Iran except for use by police and security personnel.

That has fed fears among reformers that the attempt on Hajjarian could be linked to Iran's intense factional struggle.

People at the scene of the shooting said the city council's armed police apparently made no attempt to chase the gunmen. That is sure to feed reformers' suspicions over the incident.

[According to report by AFP from Tehran, "Hajarian, once a specialist in psychological warfare during his time in the Iranian secret service, has made enemies on both sides of the political divide. Last December, the moderate Executives of Construction Party accused him of bugging its offices after publishing "highly confidential" remarks by the daughter of Rafsanjani that sparked a political row.]
 

Bloody Turn In Regime's Factional Infighting, Iran Zamin News Agency, March 12

The attempt on Saeed Hajjarian's life indicates that the clerical regime's infighting has taken a bloody turn following the Majlis election sham. Hajjarian was responsible for countless crimes and played a role in the execution of 120,000 political prisoners by the clerical regime, including the massacre of 30,000 political detainees in 1988.

Nearly a month after the election in which, as always, no one outside the two ruling factions was allowed to take part, and those who did had to prove their conviction in the velayat-e faqih doctrine, the election results in Tehran are not yet known and the warring factions are lashing out at each other.

Mr. Massoud Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, had earlier noted that: Iran has entered a turbulent stage, in which greater conflicts between the warring factions can be predicted. The elections will not alleviate the mullahs' problems. It will intensify the deep political, social and economic crises plaguing the regime.
 

Top Cleric Denounces Khatami's Faction, Associated Press, March 10

TEHRAN - A hard-line cleric lashed out at Iran's "reformists" today, warning that the government's liberal cultural policies were more dangerous to the nation than a military coup.

Ayatollah Mohammad Mesbah Yazdi said criticism of religious teachings and prominent people in the name of press freedom threatened Iran's Islamic system.

"This is a conspiracy, a creeping coup a thousand times more dangerous than a military coup and a thousand times more sinful than killing a human being," Yazdi told worshippers at Tehran University.

Though he named no one, his remarks were apparently directed at moderate Culture Minister Ataollah Mohajerani and ministry policies under Mohammad Khatami.

Back to Brief on Iran