TEHRAN - Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, lashed out Saturday at the US-brokered Camp David summit, saying any Palestinian compromise with Israel would fail because of resistance by radical Palestinian groups.

"While the flag of struggle and resistance flies, the line of compromise is doomed to fail," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state television.

"Israel is a false and fictitious reality, which is why it will end up disappearing, and all residents of Palestine of all religions will live there in peace," the supreme leader added.

"The United States organized this summit as the region found a new breath of justice after the resistance's victory in south Lebanon," he said. "This second Camp David summit will not achieve its aims."

Iranian media have warned over the past few days that the current peace talks will fail.
 

Daily Reports Bomb Threats From Rival Circles, Agence France Presse, July 23

TEHRAN - The government-run daily, Iran, close to Mohammad Khatami, received a bomb threat Saturday from rival circles following the paper's criticism of a leading conservative daily, the paper reported Sunday.

"An unknown woman telephoned Iran and said the daily would be bombed," in a couple of hours, said the paper, which is published by the official IRNA news agency.

The woman said the reason for the threat was Iran's publication of certain "revelations" by IRNA over a series of articles in the conservative Kayhan paper that targeted figures close to Khatami.

The bomb threat came just three days after IRNA announced it has been flooded by "organized threatening phone calls" from Islamic fundamentalist circles over its criticism of Kayhan.

In three recent editions, Kayhan claimed that most pro-Khatami journalists and Abdolkarim Sorush and Mohsen Kadivar had received money from the US-based human rights organization, Human Rights Watch, allegations that have been harshly denounced by reformers.

IRNA responded by describing Kayhan's reports as an organized campaign against Khatami allies, which in turn sparked further attacks by Kayhan.

IRNA then threatened to publicize revelations against the "bellicose" newspaper, which it said was controlled by "suspicious and invisible elements."
 

Top Mullah Says U.S. Plans To Get Access To Iran's Resources By Pushing Reformist Drive, State-Controlled Tehran Times, July 16

TEHRAN - Tehran substitute Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani commented on the difference between the U.S.-style reformation and the Islamic reformist drive saying the United States seeks to win control of Iran's resources through supporting the reformation efforts in the country…

Ayatollah Kashani… pointed out that… the United States plans to create tensions in Iran through its apparent support for Iran's independence and freedom….

The ayatollah stated that the enemies are attempting to take advantage of the (factional) discrepancies in Iran to achieve their evil aims and for this very reason the people and the system leaders are duty-bound to do their utmost to head off the misunderstandings among the officials and remove the present obstacles in the way of the system….
 

Jews Urge Argentina To Scale Back Trade With Iran, Reuters, July 21

NEW YORK - The New York-based World Jewish Congress, a Jewish advocacy group urged Argentina on Friday to scale back its trade with Iran until Tehran cooperates with an investigation of the bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center that killed 86 people six years ago.

Argentina, Israel and the United States suspect guerrillas backed by Iran were behind the car bombing -- as well as a 1992 bombing of Israel's embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29 people.
 

News Agency Head In Court On New Libel Charges, Reuters, July 23

TEHRAN - The head of Iran's official IRNA news agency appeared before the hardline Press Court on Sunday to answer conservatives' charges of libel and defamation, the agency said.

It said Fereydoun Verdinejad faced a total of 54 counts, including charges filed by the hardline Ansar-e Hezbollah vigilantes and the Basij.

Verdinejad, close to Khatami's government, was briefly detained by the Press Court last year.

"The Press Court summoned me for 24 previous charges that have been answered and for 30 new ones," he said after the latest hearing. A second session has been scheduled for July 26. 

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