BAGHDAD - The main armed Iranian opposition group Mojahedin Khalq said on Thursday it had foiled an Iranian mortar attack on one of their bases near Baghdad.

"Terrorists sent by the mullahs' regime tried to hit the Mojahedin's Camp Badizadegan west of Baghdad with 60-mm mortars from a distance last night," a statement by the Iraq-based group said.

"When they fired the first round, the camp's security guards immediately located their position and chased the assailants, who left behind a mortar launcher and fled the scene," it added.

The group reported no casualties.

The statement said the Mojahedin emphasized its right to respond and to defend itself.

It urged the U.N. Secretary- General and the Security Council to condemn the attack.

Earlier this month Iraq accused Iran of firing six projectiles at a Baghdad district housing Palestinian refugees, wounding eight people.
 

Mojahedin Network Inside Iran, Iran Zamin News Agency, May 4

On May 3, the official news agency, IRNA, quoted the state-run daily, Keyhan International, as reporting:" The Mojahedin have their links and contacts inside the country. Without them, they cannot carry out their activities."

"Although the security forces are entrusted with the task of identifying such contacts, the public is a also duty bound to be extremely vigilant to trace any suspicious activity in society …It cannot be denied that the Mojahedin's attacks have targeted the headquarters of the State Security Forces…

"In reality, the Mojahedin are the number one enemy and one cannot deny the fact that this group has in the past attacked several government establishment."
 

Uncertainty Over Tehran Parliamentary Election Results, Agence France Presse, May 11

TEHRAN - Iran's election watchdog body failed Thursday to end the uncertainty hovering over the Tehran election results, nearly three months after parliamentary elections, despite indications earlier this week that final validation was close.

Meanwhile political and religious circles are eagerly awaiting the speech to be delivered by Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, at Friday prayers in Tehran.

Some 2,000 members of the volunteer Islamic militia, the Bassiji, are expected to arrive in Tehran from Qom, to express their "total support" for Khamenei.

The Council of Guardians has demanded a fourth count in Tehran, despite the objections of the Interior Ministry.

The Council said Sunday there was substantial fraud in the capital.
 

A Cabinet In Disarray, Javan (State-controlled publication), May 1

Deputy Chairman of the Majlis Planning and Budgeting Committee Abbas-Ali Noura:" At the present, Khatami's cabinet is in disarray…For instance, only three cabinet members voted for merging two ministries. Khatami's cabinet is like a corporation where people of different groups and camps, each with their different views, are present. The Guidance Ministry also suffers from this problem."
 

The Shift In Rafsanjani Position, Iran News (State-controlled daily), May 11

TEHRAN - Chairman of the Expediency Council, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in his April 28 Friday Prayer sermon took an extremely hard-line position regarding the current political problems and the issue of the mass closure of newspapers.

…After his recent harsh remarks about the press and the reformists, most analysts believe that he has shifted his position and is now fully immersed in the Conservative camp…

Under this new circumstance, independent political groups are no longer meaningful, and political wisdom now is "whoever is not with us is against us". This trend does not serve the interests of the system's political forces.

In an interview with the now defunct Sobh-e Emrooz daily (April 10, 2000), Dr. Ahmad Naqibzadeh, Tehran University Professor of Political Science, clarified the significance of the 2nd of Khordad Front and its reform policies. He said: "The 2nd of Khordad protected the Islamic Revolution from another revolution and directed it into the path of growth and evolution. It also encouraged people from all walks of life to look forward to a better future without waiting for another revolution."

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