TEHRAN - Several mortars hit the headquarters of the national police in Tehran and surrounding areas on Monday, injuring several people, sources in the Iranian capital said.

The rebel Mujahedeen Khalq rebel group claimed responsibility for the attack during a call to The Associated Press in Cairo.

Iran's state television said three mortars exploded near a sports complex in Tehran's Vanak Square.

But sources in the area said several mortars landed at the headquarters of the national police forces.

Mujahedeen spokesman Farid Soleimani said the mortar attack was aimed at the State Security Forces, as the police are called.

Soleimani said the attack was carried out "in solidarity with student protests nationwide."

[According to the statement by the Mojahedin, "Contrary to the propaganda by the state radio and television that civilians have been hit in a sports and cultural complex, no civilian center or individual was targeted… Eyewitnesses and the non-commissioned personnel report from the HQ of Lotfian and Naqdi that Dozens of SSF agents were killed or wounded"]
 

Riot Indicates Tense Mood in Iran, Associated Press, April 28

TEHRAN - University students threw stones and burned tires during a riot early today in a sign of growing public anger at a hard-line crackdown that has shut down 16 reformist newspapers.

About 200 students took part in an overnight protest at Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University that turned violent in the early hours, a journalist at the scene told The Associated Press.

Police and hard-line vigilantes dispersed the protesters after an hour of rioting, he said on customary condition of anonymity.

Khatami was quoted Thursday on Iranian TV as saying everyone should "act within the framework of the law in order to calm the crisis and meet the needs of society."
 

Iranian Workers Rally for Rights, Reuters, April 30

TEHRAN - Thousands of Iranian workers rallied outside the Labor Ministry in central Tehran on Sunday to mark Labor Day with a raucous defense of workers' rights.

The workers chanted slogans against the outgoing parliament and criticized the state broadcasting monopoly.

"Parliament don't mess with us," the crowd roared in reference to a recent parliamentary act which allowed small-scale employers to waive certain provisions of the Labor Law.

They also called on the government of Khatami to address the issue of employment and job creation.

The workers had originally planned to march towards the parliament building but were denied permission by the interior ministry.
 

Jews Wait and Worry over Outcome of Spy Trial, Agence France Presse, May 1

SHIRAZ, Iran - Jews in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz were waiting anxiously Sunday for the start of the trial of 13 members of their community on charges of spying for Israel.

Some 50 members of the town's ancient Jewish community -- mainly men, with a sprinkling of elderly women -- gathered in the Rabbi Zadeh synagogue on Sunday evening to hold special prayers for the detainees.

"First they were accused of dealing with antiques, then with fake dollars, then with alcohol, and finally now it is espionage. If they are spies, so are we," said one of them who asked not to be named, but acted as spokesman for the group, uncertain whether to speak to journalists.

But the Jews praying Sunday for their co-religionists were "not optimistic" about the trial's outcome.

"If the authorities try them the way they want, they will end up being found guilty." the spokesman said.

[According to a related report by the Reuters, the clerical Judiciary on Monday said that the prime suspect in Iran's Jewish espionage trial has confessed to being a trained Israeli agent who spied both for money and for love of the Jewish state.]
 

Iran Remains "The Most Active State Sponsor of Terrorism", Agence France Presse, May 1

TEHRAN - The annual US report, sent to Congress on Friday, said Iran continues to support terrorist groups opposed to the Arab-Israeli peace process, despite the election wins of the "pro-reform" movement.

"Although there were signs of political change in Iran in 1999, the actions of certain state institutions in support of terrorist groups made Iran the most active state sponsor of terrorism," the report said.

[Reuters quoted the report as saying: "These state institutions, notably the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, continued to be involved in the planning and execution of terrorist acts," it added.]

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