The clerical regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei threatened the rival faction in his Friday prayers sermon yesterday in Tehran and said: "I will finally say one day what some people are doing in this country in favor of the enemy and to the detriment of our nation."

In an official commentary on Khamenei’s a speech, the state-run television accused several prominent members of Khatami’s faction, who had taken part in conference in Berlin, of "treason."

"All the authorities in this country and all the pious people" are opposed "to American reforms," said Khamenei. He stressed that Khatami, too, believes only in "Islamic reforms."

Khamenei stated that "the use of violence by the state is permissible" in the mullahs’ regime and added: "Where there is insurgency and lawlessness, the Islamic government must act with strength, with firmness, with violence. We must not be afraid of the term ‘violence’."

Khamenei referred to the uprising of the people of Tehran and other cities in July and said: "In Tehran last summer, there were crimes committed in the streets; there was insecurity. They produced riots and the enemy encouraged them…"

Khamenei also referred to the uprising in different cities across the country, including Khalkhal, in recent weeks, and said: "If there is no security, if there is no unity, if there is strife and scandal-mongering, if we are always facing political tensions, then the first to suffer is the government itself... Our national security will be imperiled and there will be insecurity."

Khamenei laid emphasis on the validity of Khomeini’s fatwa on Salman Rushdie’s life and said: "The Imam (Khomeini) said: Whoever finds Rushdie, must kill him."
 

Guardian Council Overturns Election of Eighth Reformist to Parliament, Agence France Presse, April 16

TEHRAN - A conservative-led Iranian council has overturned the election of an eighth pro-reform winner in February's parliamentary polls, newspapers reported here on Sunday.

The Council of Guardians cancelled the election of Karim Rahmani in the province of West Azerbaijan, the reformist Bayan paper said.

Eight pro-reform supporters of Khatami have now seen the council overturn their victories in the election.

The upending of the results in the northwestern city of Khalkhal earlier this month sparked violent protests as angry demonstrators smashed government buildings and set vehicles on fire. Some 40 people were arrested.

Protests have also erupted in other cities as the council has annulled results in the February 18 polls.
 

Unrest After Militias Harass Couple, Iran Zamin News Agency, April 16

In an intense pre-dawn clash between local residents and mullahs’ Revolutionary Guards in the northern city of Rasht on Saturday, angry demonstrators attacked dozens of government buildings, throwing stones and smashing their windows.

The clashes began at about 4 a.m. in the city’s Hajiabad Street when residents in the area challenged members of the notorious paramilitary Bassij who were harassing a young couple.

Infuriated by the security forces’ brutality, a large crowd of local residents assaulted the Bassij members and other security agents. Chanting "Down with the mullahs’ regime," they attacked government buildings and centers with stones and sticks.

Many of the demonstrators have been arrested.
 

U.S. Puts Sanctions on Iran Missile Developing Entities, Reuters, April 14

WASHINGTON - The United States said Friday it imposed sanctions on five "entities" in North Korea and Iran for alleged missile proliferation, a largely symbolic step given the scant economic ties with those two countries.

"We have imposed penalties on North Korean and Iranian entities for knowingly engaging in missile technology transfers," State Department spokesman James Rubin said.

Examples of the systems involved included SCUD missiles, complete missile systems, major subsystems, rocket stages or guidance systems, or technology associated with such missiles, Rubin said.

"Because this activity was judged to make a substantial contribution to missile proliferation, an additional penalty was imposed requiring the denial for at least two years of the importation into the United States of all products produced by the sanctioned North Korean and Iranian entities," Rubin said.

The sanctions were not expected to directly affect the recent step taken by the United States to allow Iranian exports of carpets, pistachios and caviar, he said.

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