HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii - U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen on Monday said Iran's test of a medium-range missile was no surprise and only confirmed it aimed to develop longer-range missiles.

Iran said on Saturday it had successfully tested the Shahab-3 missile, which is modeled mainly on North Korea's Nodong-1 and improved with Russian technology.

Iran's test of a missile with a range of 800 miles (1,300 km), capable of hitting Israel, led to some speculation it was an attempt to damage Middle East peace talks being held near Washington. Cohen said he did not know what the motives were.
 

U.S. Says Iranian Missile Test 'A Serious Threat' To Region, Associated Press, July 17

WASHINGTON - Iran's weekend test of a medium-range missile capable of reaching Israel or U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia is a "serious threat to the region and to U.S. nonproliferation interests," the State Department said Monday.

"The tests show Iran is continuing aggressive efforts to develop missiles more capable than the existing 300- and 500-kilometer Scuds that they have, Reeker [Spokesman] said.
 

Culture Minister Publishes New Edition of Book on Rushdie, Agence France Presse, July 17

TEHRAN - A new edition has been issued of Culture Minister Ataollah Mohajerani's book on Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses," in which the Iranian official says the British novelist's work is part of a plot against Islam.

In the introduction to "Commentary on the Plot of 'The Satanic Verses,'" Mohajerani, a close ally of Mohammad Khatami, writes of "deep and complex dimensions in the plot of 'The Satanic Verses.'"

"The plot is anti-Islam and anti-Muslim," Mohajerani writes in the new edition of his book published by the daily newspaper Ettela'at, where he is a member of the editorial board.

Mohajerani's book was first published in 1989, the year Khomeini, founder of Iran's Islamic republic, pronounced a religious decree condemning Rushdie to death.
 

Pattern of Instability: Protests Persist, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Iran, July 17

The final days of June and the first weeks of July were marked by rallies in Tehran, Rasht, Shiraz, Isfahan, and Abadan that occasionally turned violent.

Add to this the violent demonstrations that have been occurring across the country since January, and one sees a pattern of instability and unrest as a reaction to Iranian government policies. And the government has usually reacted to the demonstrations repressively or by shifting the blame.

The most dramatic incidents occurred on 8-9 July, when people gathered to mark the annual anniversary of the violent events that were initiated by an assault on a Tehran University dormitory….

Protests in the southwestern city of Abadan also turned violent on 5 July, according to state television, when a crowd of people gathered outsider the governor's office to object to the salinity of local drinking water. The protestors then broke windows and burned tires, at which point the security forces opened fire, used tear gas, and arrested over 150 people….

Unpaid workers have held numerous strikes throughout the year.

Student groups also have held demonstrations throughout the year. Many of these have related to the continuing imprisonment of their peers since summer 1999. Others, for example those in Qom, Khorramabad, Tehran, and Qazvin, have staged strikes to protest inadequate educational facilities.

There have been reports of unrest in Tabriz throughout the year. These incidents related to ethnic issues, the repression of last July's demonstrations in Tabriz, and the parliamentary election….
 

Pro-Khatami Journalist Sentenced, Associated Press, July 17

TEHRAN - An outspoken Iranian journalist convicted of insulting Islam was sentenced Monday to a 5 1/2-year prison term, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Emadeddin Baqi was convicted in May of "insulting Islamic sanctities, spreading falsehoods to divert public opinion, libel and insult," IRNA quoted his lawyer Masood Haeri as saying.

Baqi's sentence comes amid a crackdown on media and writers. Several other journalists recently have been jailed by the hard-line judiciary, which has also closed down 19 pro-reform papers.

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