Six Revolutionary Guards and a Mojahedin supporter called Youness were killed in extensive clashes yesterday morning between the people of Zarabad region near the town of Kahnouj in the southern province of Kerman and the clerical regime's forces made up of the Revolutionary Guards and State Security Forces.

Clashes broke out when local people tried to prevent the arrest of several Mojahedin supporters in their area by the security forces.

When the local detachment of State Security Forces failed to quash the protest, the authorities sent in reinforcements of Revolutionary Guards and SSF troops from nearby cities. Helicopter gunships from the city of Kerman were sent to the area in search of Mojahedin supporters in the countryside.
 

Iran Announces Formation of Five New Ballistic Missile Units, Agence France Presse, July 2

TEHRAN - The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards announced Sunday the formation of five ballistic missile units that will help keep Iran "among the region's military powers."

"One of our great achievements inside the air force ... was the creation of five launching units for ballistic missiles," General Rahim Safavi told the newspaper Kayhan.
 

Russia, Iran Pledge To Boost Military Ties, Reuters, June 30

MOSCOW - Russia and Iran pledged to boost military cooperation and expressed concern at U.S. involvement in their backyards, officials involved in talks in Tehran and Moscow were quoted as saying on Friday.

Intensified military cooperation between Russia and Iran is viewed with deep suspicion by the United States.

Itar-Tass news agency, in a report from the Iranian capital, quoted Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov as saying military officials from the two countries had agreed on Friday to hold regular consultations. It was the first such Russian delegation to visit the country since 1991, the agency said.

Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing satisfaction at the "high level of cooperation" during talks held earlier this week in Moscow by Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi.
 

Khatami's Foreign Ministry Slams International Outrage Against Sentencing of Iranian Jews, Agence France Presse, July 2

TEHRAN - Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi hit out Sunday at western criticism of the sentencing of 10 Iranian Jews to jail terms for spying for Israel, the state news agency IRNA reported.

"Interventionist attitudes adopted to influence Iran's judicial process are not acceptable to the Islamic Republic," Asefi said.
 

Iran Says No Immediate Plan to Resume Ties With Egypt, Reuters, July 2

TEHRAN - Iran said on Sunday that it had no immediate plans to resume diplomatic relations with Egypt, despite a suggestion that such ties could be only weeks away.

"Reports that the two countries will establish diplomatic relations soon are not correct. There have been no talks on resuming ties soon," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told Iran's state radio.
 

Iran Demands Apology From CNN And CBS, State Radio, June 27

The CBS and the CNN television networks can resume their activities in Iran, if they apologize to the Iranian government and nation.

The CBS network in its "60 Minutes" program two weeks ago broadcast false confessions of an individual named Ahmad Behbahani who accused Iran of having had a hand in the bombing of an airbus [as heard] over Lockerbie in Scotland. CNN's activities have also been limited due to a program produced by Christianne Amanpur as CNN reporter.

He stressed that until CBS broadcasts a program apologizing to the Iranian government and nation and CNN corrects its method of operation they will be faced with limitations in Iran.
 

News Brief

Agence France Presse, July 2 - An officer in Iran's Revolutionary Guards was killed in the country's Kurdish northwestern region, state television said Sunday. "Ayub Ravandi was shot dead by unknown assailants," the television said.

The attack occurred in the city of Mahabad, in the Kurdish-dominated southern sector of Iran's Western Azerbaijan province.

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