NTB (national Norwegian news agency), Oct. 25, Oslo - She is the mullahs' regime's number-one enemy and is supposed to be the future President of Iran. Maryam Rajavi, the President in exile and the leader of the National Council of Resistance, came to Scandinavia for the first time on Wednesday.

Wearing a brilliant blue dress, she entered through extremely tight security. Armed police were stationed throughout the airport to protect her...

"I hope that Norway which has played an important role in African and Middle Eastern affairs, would help us in our struggle." She stressed, "A democratic Iran means stability and freedom in the region. Norway is a leading country in human rights and democracy. Others must learn from the Norwegian example."

Rajavi says she has come to Norway to convey the suffering of the Iranian people to the people of the world. She will go to meet the Parliament's foreign affairs committee. She will also take part in the meeting of the committee in Defense of Human Rig hts in Iran which was formed in summer.

Reuter, Oct. 25, Oslo - Exiled Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, starting her first foreign trip since finding a haven in France two years ago, vowed in Norway on Wednesday to fight Iran's rulers....

"I hope the visit to Norway, which has a leading role (in) human rights and democracy, will help me to introduce democracy and freedom in Iran," Rajavi, wearing a blue coat and headscarf, told reporters outside the VIP arrival hall.

Rajavi, who was invited by the Norwegian Committee for Human Rights in Iran, said she hoped her visit would "help me mobilise the power to continue fighting the regime and free Iran". Lars Gunnar Lingaas, chairman of the committee which groups leading politicians from most political parties, said: "Our committee is very proud that Norway is the first country you visit (since being admitted by France)".

Channel 2 TV, Oct. 25, 6:30 PM - One of the largest security measures had been set up today at Oslo's airport. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance's President, arrived in Norway and was warmly welcomed. Her visit is of course not official but sh e has been invited to address the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. She is condemned to death by the mullahs regime.

Rajavi's life has been threatened by the regime of ayatollahs for 14 years. She is visiting Norway to speak about all the violations of human rights in her country... Maryam Rajavi now leads the Resistance and the opposition outside Iran.

"Democracy and freedom are the human values which are extremely strong [in Norway] and I am therefore hopeful to be able to welcome you all as quickly as possible in a democratic Iran...."

Dagbladdet, Oct. 26 - Maryam Rajavi, 42, number one on Iran's hit list, came to Norway yesterday...

Mrs. Rajavi: I hope and I do believe that Norway will take action and will be the first country to cut off relations with Iran. This gives hope to the Resistance movement in Iran and outside. Norway has so far done so much which has practically harmed the regime. I hope that you will complete your step.

Rajavi calls for the same support we gave to the ANC in South Africa. During her visit, she will also ask for Norway's recognition of the National Council of Resistance as the representative of the Iranian people.

Arbeider Bladet, Oct. 26 - The National Council of Resistance is a nationwide organization for a series of resistance organizations in Iran. More than half of the members of the National Council of Resistance are women and Maryam Rajavi was elected as the President of the "Iranian government in exile" in August 1993.... Maryam Rajavi says: "This is very important that all the countries in Europe follow the good example of Norway with respect to Iran. Norway is the most advanced country of the world in the field of human rights and democracy. My hope is that Norway, which has had a leading role in solving the conflict in the Middle East and Africa, can also help us in our struggle."

She had already asserted that she looks on to Norway and the Nordic social democracies as a model for the free Iran of tomorrow.

Mrs. Rajavi warns that the mullahs are the beating heart and the main exporter of terrorism and fundamentalism in the world. The Khomeini regime will be able to put its hands on the nuclear bomb and chemical weapons in very near future. With its violen ce and savagery, it will create many problems for the rest of the world. According to the Iranian President-in-exile, the Tehran government is suffering from an irremediable political, economic and social crisis. Its foreign debt exceeds 300 billion Krs, inflation stands at 100%, and from every 10 Iranians, eight live below th e poverty line...

... and the Resistance is growing against this regime. Strikes and demonstrations are common place...

Two weeks ago, the parliament passed a law which even bans two people's talking to each other. Yes! Even thinking about a peaceful expression of dissent is also forbidden...

This woman who has been elected by exiled Iranians as the first President of democratic Iran, says: "We are confronted with a Satanic regime. This certainly gives us the right to use all the resources and opportunities, provided by the authorities who recognize us, to lead the resistance which is supposed to overthrow the mullahs in Tehran."

Democratic values have been stressed in our programmes point by point. We recognize the fundamental principles of human rights, says Mrs. Rajavi. She is a convincing person, leaving footsteps of truth in one's mind.

... Maryam Rajavi points to the photograph of her husband, Massoud, which sits on a table beside her. [Rajavi:] Our leader has time and again repeated that if the United Nations intervenes and oversees a free election, we will lay down our guns and par ticipate in it. From the very beginning, we tried all and every peaceful method to bring change and democracy to Iran. But the [mullahs'] regime deprived our people from their rights and forced us to do what we did. I believe that the people of Norway who have fought against the Hitlerian Nazis will understand that one cannot oppose a clerical regime, worse than Hitler, without guns.

Narrator: There is something strange about this contradiction between the tough and the delicate, when Maryam Rajavi speaks about the National Liberation Army which is prepared to launch its attack and uses words such as democracy, humane feelings and love.

[Rajavi]: Yes, this is unusual and very unique to our Resistance, because we are fighting a regime which is inhuman and therefore our lives have to be intertwined with humane values.

Women have a powerful status in the Iranian Resistance and in the military sector, what the President likes to speak about very much. "Because we are fighting a regime which is characterized by its enmity towards women and their suppression. Therefore, we have to practice the opposite. We take women serious and we recognize them. They have the right to do everything they want to...."

Question: Did the Muslims and the Resistance accept it without any questions?

Rajavi: "No, No! As you are aware..."

She continues laughing, but the subject gets translated, "This is a historical problem in all the societies and all the movements and more than anything else is related to culture. But we were aware of this element. It was difficult for men to accept t he women's new role. It was also difficult for women."

When it comes to religion, Maryam Rajavi gets serious. She takes her Islamic beliefs very serious. But her Islam is not the same as the mullahs'. "They take advantage of Islam to hang onto power," she says. "They suppress the people in the name of Isla m, they torture and deprive people of their rights. True Islam never permits such behavior. True Islam provides maximum freedom of expression and belief. One of the mullahs' crimes is that they consider women as second class citizens and treat them in inh uman ways. But true Islam says that men and women are equal and, therefore, you see in our movement that Islam has equal respect for women. The National Council of Resistance has prepared its plans for future Iran. A politically pluralist system with fund amental freedoms, equal human and social rights, separation of church and state, and autonomy for the Iranian Kurdistan."

Bergens Tidene, Oct. 27, Oslo - Anyone serious in fighting fundamentalist regimes must attack their heart in Tehran. As long as this heart beats, they will use all the resources until they achieve their ambitious desires, the desire to lead one billion Muslims. These are the words of Maryam Rajavi....

So far, the regime has done whatever it could to prevent recognition of the National Council of Resistance by Western governments. The mullahs know that such recognition could be the beginning of end for them, Mrs. Rajavi says.

She emphasizes that the National Council of Resistance is the sole democratic alternative in Iran. What is the alternative to not giving support to the NCR? Yes, the mullahs' regime will continue its terrorist operations in and out of Iran.

If you study our programs, you will see that democratic values have been stressed in them point by point. We recognize the fundamental principles of human rights, says Mrs. Rajavi. She is a convincing person, leaving footsteps of truth in one's mind.

The people of Iran know the mullahs. If after they are overthrown, we want to not heed democracy even for a moment, then our time is up. The people of Iran know the rule of terror and suppression and have felt it. They do not want to experience it agai n. We ask her: You are yourself a Muslim and you study the same Quran that the mullahs do, don't you?

Rajavi answers: The mullahs' holy book is not the Quran. They take advantage of the Quran to justify their criminal deeds. For us, Islam is freedom of religion, and freedom of everything we wish to say. A natural example is their outlook on women. Mull ahs have turned women into second class citizens.

Rajavi says poverty is one of the most basic problems of this fundamentalist regime. They go after unprincipled solutions. They oppose the Middle East peace process. She says the mullahs sponsor terrorism and foment instability. And she does not think the problem of Algeria could be solved as long as the mullahs are in power.

Rajavi says Iran has never been so much miserable. They are handicapped in economy and in popular support. She says the NCR is ready to begin its operation in Tehran but the time for removing the mullahs will be cut short if the Western governments imp ose an economic embargo on this regime.

I am optimistic, Maryam Rajavi concludes her interview with these words, just as the NCR journal notes: The mullahs just know too well that, "hope has already exploded among the populace."

Aftenposten, Oct. 27 - Sitting in a hotel in Oslo under extremely tight security, is a quiet woman with an extra-ordinarily strong radiance: Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian opposition President who has dedicated her life to the struggle against dictators... .

She draws particular attention to the intolerable situation of women: "A day doesn't go by without a law being passed for the suppression of women. They cannot smile in public places, they cannot wear make-up, their dresses should be only in colors end orsed by the state. They are widely arrested for violating these laws. In the prison, many of them are raped before execution. Mothers are tortured before the eyes of their children and wives before their husbands.

She says, "Women are totally eliminated from public life, and the authorities treat them as worse than animals. They do not recognize the 'humanity' of women. What has taken place in Iran against women is unprecedented in history. Suppression is so ext ensive and brutal that a day does not go by without a number of women committing suicide. They have stripped 60 million Iranians from every hope for life or future. In addition, with its export of terrorism and fundamentalism and build-up of weapons of ma ss destruction, the mullahs' regime is a threat to world's peace. Therefore, we call on Norway to support our struggle to stop this terrorist regime...."

The mullahs take advantage of the Quran to justify their criminal deeds. For us, Islam is freedom of religion, and freedom of everything we wish to say.

She adds, "Some time ago, we reiterated before the officials in Iran that if they accept to hold free and democratic elections under the supervision of international observers, we are ready then to put down our arms. This is our most important politica l strategy, and we are asking support for a struggle for democracy and freedom. For example, we demand a complete embargo of the Iranian regime and the formal recognition of the Iranian Resistance movement as the legal authority of the country...."

Maryam Rajavi says, "Women in Norway play a leading role on all social levels, and the status of women is very remarkable and different from all other countries. As far as I can judge, public opinion has tremendous influence on the politics and other d ecision-makings. The youth are listened to. Norway has also played an important role in solving the problems of several countries, because Norway strongly believes in freedom whether in the country or on the international level. I believe that Norway can help our movement best because we strive for the same ideals."

"Norway must adopt a stronger policy against the Iranian regime." This was the message of the Iranian President-in-exile, Maryam Rajavi, as she met today with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament. But the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Comm ittee cannot promise a change in treatment of mullahs' government.

Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee welcomed Maryam Rajavi, the exiled leader who has come to Norway for the first time from her exile in Paris.

Despite the unofficial nature of this meeting, the Iranian opposition in exile was very happy with this high level meeting and hopes for Norway's support in its future activities against the Tehran regime....

Mrs. Rajavi: Our request is that the people of Norway and their true representatives call on the government of Norway to have more decisive and more serious relationship in countering the Khomeini regime, that is to move towards severance of ties and o n the other hand, recognition of the Iranian Resistance and the only alternative against it, the National Council of Resistance.

Adno Kronos (Italy), Oct. 27, Oslo - Mrs. Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance, the main opposition to the Tehran regime, met this morning with the former prime minister of Norway, Mr. Kaare Willock. Mrs. Rajavi reiterated that as long as the Khomeini regime is in power in Iran, violations of human rights and export of fundamentalism to the world will continue. She expressed hope that Norway will continue to give backing to the efforts for establishing peace and democracy i n Iran by supporting the Resistance and cutting off relations with the mullahs. Kaare Willock vehemently condemned the savagery of the Tehran regime and wished for the ultimate success of the Iranian Resistance.

Associated Press, Oct. 27, Oslo - "Given the great tradition of Norway, after South Africa and the peace process in the Middle East, the time has come for Norway to focus its attention on Iran," Mrs. Rajavi said after meeting the Norwegian Parliament's foreign affairs committee.

Rajavi, 42, was picked two years ago by the exile National Council of Resistance as "future president" of Iran, if the group succeeds in bringing down the Islamic government....

Rajavi urged Norway to go farther "by cutting off complete relations with it."

Agence France Presse, Oct. 27, Oslo - In her meeting Friday in Oslo with the Norwegian parliamentary representatives, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, Leader of the Iranian National Council of Resistance urged that country's support for the democratic opposition to the Iranian regime. After meeting the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Norway, Mrs. Rajavi declared, "We invite the government of Norway to give a more decisive support to the democratic forces in Iran."

Agderposten (NTB), Oct. 28 - One hundred Iranians residing in Norway happily welcomed the Iranian President-in-exile and leader of the National Council of Resistance, Maryam Rajavi, as she left the Parliament after a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Co mmittee... Fascinated, the exiled Iranians who were kept at a suitable distance from the number one enemy of the clerical regime, shouted, "Thanks, thanks, Norway...."

Rajavi said she had asked for Norway's cooperation to bring about freedom and establish a democratic system in Iran to replace the religious terrorist dictatorship. "We have asked the government of Norway to give a more decisive support to the democrat ic alternative represented by the National Council of Resistance."

Rajavi emphasized that all religions and religious associations will enjoy complete freedom in a democratic Iran and there will be little possibility that Iran would face a process of political or racial disintegration after it is freed, because the NC R has itself gathered a number of different political and ethnic groups.

She said: The NCR is completely supported by the people of Iran, among others, merchants and factory owners in Iran and in exile. But with such a big organization, there is never enough money...

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Blankenborg, from the Labor Party, said: ... The Committee has used the opportunity of the trip to Norway of such an important leader like Mrs. Rajavi to obtain more information. He said their main goal was to become informed about the dimensions of this organization, its political platforms and the methods it employs.

The time for removing the mullahs will be cut short if the Western governments impose an economic embargo on this regime.

B.B.C. radio, Farsi service, Oct. 28 - The leader of one of the exiled groups opposing the Iranian government, Maryam Rajavi has talked in Oslo to the members of the Norwegian Parliament. Maryam Rajavi who presides over the National Council of Resistan ce of Iran, has asked Norway's Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee members to step up its opposition to the Iranian government.

Chairman and Members of Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee NCR Secretariat in Paris, Oct. 27 - Upon the invitation of the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Norway, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance's President-elect, attended the committee's meeting this noon and examined the latest achievements and advancements of the Iranian Resistance to realize freedom and democracy in Iran.

Mr. Haakon Blanken Borg, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Mrs. Kaci Kullman FivŽ, Vice-chairman of the committee from the leadership of the Conservative Party; Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Foreign Minister and leader of the Christian Par ty's parliamentary group; Mr. Eric Solheim, leader of the Socialist Party; and Mrs. Anne Mary Lanstein, leader of the Center Party, as well as a number of other members of the Foreign Affairs Committee were present in this one and a half hour meeting.

Mrs. Rajavi elaborated on the serious threat posed by the mullahs to regional and international peace and security. She admired the courageous measures taken by the Government of Norway to downgrade trade and diplomatic relations with the mullahs' reli gious terrorist dictatorship. The only effective policy for countering Iran's ruling mullahs, President Rajavi emphasized, is practice of decisiveness and enforcement of comprehensive diplomatic and trade embargo on the regime on the one hand, and recogn ition of the Iranian people's nationwide Resistance and their democratic alternative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, on the other. The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee welcomed Mrs. Rajavi and said: As elected representatives of th e people of Norway, we are concerned about the violations of human rights in Iran as well as the regime's export of terrorism. We are also abreast of the efforts and resistance of yourself and the movement you lead for the establishment of democracy in Ir an and profoundly respect it. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Iranian Resistance's President-elect and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Norwegian Parliament fielded questions of foreign and local journalists at a press conference. Mrs. Rajavi subsequently vis ited different parts of the Parliament, paid homage to the memorial of the martyrs of Norway's Resistance in the First and Second World War and presented a copy of the List of Names and Particulars of 14,028 Victims of the Khomeini Regime's Executions, m artyrs of the Iranian Resistance, to the Parliament of Norway.

Several hours before Mrs. Rajavi's arrival at the Parliament, a large number of Iranians residing Norway had come to the site, waiting for the Resistance's President-elect with baskets of flowers. At the time of her arrival and departure, Iranians warm ly expressed their emotions in her support and against the Khomeini regime. As she left the Parliament of Norway, Mrs. Rajavi responded to her compatriots' expressions of support.

NCR Secretariat in Paris, Oct. 27 - This morning, Mr. Kaare Willock, the Governor of Oslo and Akershus and the former prime minister of Norway and ex-leader of the Conservative Party, met and held talks with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi at her place of residence .

Expressing pleasure at meeting the Iranian Resistance's President-elect, Mr. Willock condemned the atrocities of the Khomeini regime and wished the Iranian Resistance success. He stated his hope that democracy and human rights would soon return to Iran . He added: I am confident that the people of Norway support your just ideals.

NCR Secretariat in Paris, Oct. 27 - This morning, Mr. Gunnar Skaug, the Speaker of the Norwegian Lower House of Parliament, met and held talks with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi at her place of residence in Oslo. Mr. Skaug said: In the Norwegian Parliament, it is not only the ruling party, but all the political parties who support you and your Resistance for freedom and democracy in Iran.

Mr. Skaug asserted: You and your Resistance are truly in the same rank as Nelson Mandela and the National African Congress, and as such, you deserve the support of the international community in every respect.

NCR Secretariat in Paris, Oct. 28 - Mr. Edvard Grimstad, Vice-president of Norway's Parliament (Stortingets), met and held talks yesterday with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi at her place of residence in Oslo. Mr. Grimstad emphasized that the people and parliamentary representatives of Norway have long been concerned about the situation of human rights in Iran and therefore, they support the just and democratic aspirations of the Iranian people.

Mr. Grimstad expressed hope that the Government of Norway would in near future formally recognize the Iranian people's Resistance and lend it support in establishing democracy and human rights in Iran.<.P> Chairman of Socialist Party

NCR Secretariat in Paris, Oct. 28 - Mr. Eric Solheim, chairman of the Socialist Party of Norway, visited and held talks this morning with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi at her place of residence in Oslo. The party's secretary for foreign relations was also present .

Condemning the crimes of the mullahs ruling Iran, Mr. Solheim stressed: We believe it is the irrefutable right of the Iranian people to undertake armed resistance against this regime, just as the people of Norway fought the Hitlerian Fascism in the sam e manner.

NCR Secretariat in Paris, Oct. 23 - Mrs. Mahvash Sepehri, Senior Secretary of the National Council of Resistance announced the names of 72 new members for the Council. They include 26 members of the faculty of education, 23 engineers and experts and 23 specialists and graduates from various universities in Iran and other countries. The average age of the 39 women and 33 men who newly joined the NCR is 40 and their average years of activism in the Resistance movement amounts to 18 years.

NCR Secretariat in Paris, Oct. 24 - The regime's press revealed last week that a court in Isfahan (central Iran) condemned a young girl to two terms of life imprisonment and the blinding of both eyes. At the same time, reports from Ahwaz (southwestern Iran) say a man was publicly hanged from a construction crane on October 16 at Naderi intersection, a busy thoroughfare. On the same day, three men were also publicly hanged in three different locations i n Shiraz (southern Iran).

Suffering from internal isolation and beset by popular protests, the mullahs' illegitimate regime makes the news of such atrocious and medieval punishments public to create an atmosphere of fear and terrorize the society.

Associated Press, Oct. 20, Tehran -- More than 1,000 militants demonstrated Thursday against "rap" -- a term anti-Western radicals use to mean all Western trends now popular among many young Iranians.

The slogan-chanting protesters gathered at a shopping mall in northwestern Tehran, where young Iranians hang out to show off their fashionable Western clothes.

"The corrupt culture of the West must be condemned," the demonstrators chanted as they marched through the streets. The militants have been staging weekly protests in Tehran against what they term a "cultural onslaught" for more than a month.

Akhbar, Tehran-based daily, Oct. 21 - "It was not a march. It was a maneuver. The maneuvers are carried out with the permission of the Ministry of Interior," said a member of the Helpers of Hezbollah regarding a demonstration yesterday staged by members of this group in Shahrak Gharb township in north Tehran to protest symbols of corruption.

Kayhan, Oct. 24 - Ten billion toumans of new credit will be allocated for countering the Western cultural onslaught. Chairman of the Majlis' Art and Culture Committee said that the books which directly confront the cultural onslaught will receiv e government aid.

Tehran radio, Kermanshah center, Oct. 22 - The Vice Patrols conducted a maneuver this morning in the city of Islamabad (western Iran). Deputy governor [of Kermanshah province], a number of judges, the commander and members of the security district as w ell as the Staff of the Educational Ministry's disciplinary affairs were also present. The maneuver was followed by a meeting of the Security Forces in this city, in which the need for showing legal reaction to the people who disrupt the public order was emphasized.

Salam, Tehran-based daily, Oct. 24 - Callers' column: "It is better to add another article to the new law of punishments: I propose that anyone who talks to himself should be arrested and put on trial..."

Ettela'at, Oct. 26 - In the sixth gathering of the Friday prayer leaders of Tehran Province, Rafsanjani said: The reverend leader of the revolution and the chiefs of the three executive, legislative and judicial branches are all clerics and it i s not right to remove the clergy from the administration of the country...

Rafsanjani said: Thanks to the revolution, historical and cultural problems were abundantly resolved and everyone understood that it is the religion which runs the country. We have been successful in this regard... We have been successful in providing for the needs of the country and principally, we are not in need of any country's help...

Voice of Mojahedin radio, Oct. 21 - Students at Isfahan's Industrial University staged a gathering, on October 15 in front of the entrance, to protest educational shortages on campus. They refrained from going to class. According to reports from Isfaha n, security forces had to overcome a firm resistance to disperse the protesters.

Voice of Mojahedin radio, Oct. 27 - In a number of famous highschools in Tehran staged acts of protest on Oct. 18. They included Alborz highschool at College Intersection, Beheshti, Assemi and Jondaqi high schools near the Sharif Industrial University, Sa'eedi highschool in Qazvin Square and Molla Sadra, Allameh Tabataba'i, Neday-e Azadi and Bahar-e Azadi high schools at Qasr Intersection. To prevent spread of the protests to other schools, the security forces ordered early closure of the schools. Secu rity forces and special units of the Guards Corps were put on alert and stationed in Azadi and Navvab districts, Qasr intersection, Taleqani and Enqelab intersections in downtown Tehran.

The mullahs' regime had previously resorted to the arrest of 1,000 youngsters in Tehran, alone, most of whom were high school and university students.

Reuter, Oct. 23, Tehran - Cash-strapped Iran's non-oil exports have been cut by as much as half since Tehran introduced tough currency controls in May, an Iranian official was quoted on Monday as saying.

Non-oil exports stood at $351.04 million and $374.12 million in the Iranian months ending on August 22 and September 22, down 44.9 percent and 53.5 percent from last year, Habibollah Asgarowladi, deputy head of Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines , was quoted by Ressalat daily as saying.

The decrease in non-oil exports stood at 19.8 percent and 25.5 percent in the two previous months, he said.

Iran's non-oil exports, dominated by carpets and pistachios, have fallen by 17.5 percent to $2.99 billion in the first six months of the Iranian year that began on March 21, Asgarowladi added.

Ressalat, Oct. 16 - The Ministry of Oil has increased the price of gasoil used by fishers in southern Iran from 27 rials last June to the presently 278 rials per litre.

Salam, Oct. 25 - Eighty four and a half percent of the 91 villages in Ganaveh (southern Iran) and their 147,000 residents are deprived of drinking water. This is the most important factor driving villagers to the cities.

Going for the Bomb

Sunday Times, Oct. 15 - In a direct challenge to America, China has agreed a multi-million-pound venture to support Iran with uranium processing technology used for making nuclear weapons.... Iran is already preparing a site for the plant on which construction is due to start early next year. Chinese technicians have visited a location north of the city of Esfahan, where Iran has a sprawling nuclear research centre.

"I am surprised and it is disturbing because it is hard to imagine why Iran would have the peaceful need for such a plant," said Leonard Spector, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. "The reason you want a uranium hexafluoride plant is to do uranium enrichment and it would suggest this is a step towards acquiring nuclear arms."

Times, Oct. 23 - Of greatest concern to Western intelligence services are reports that Chinese experts have almost finished a uranium enrichment plant at the atomic centre at Karaj, a huge facility constructed under the guise of a medical and ho spital complex, 100 miles from Tehran. Uranium enrichment is a vital element in the development of bomb-grade material for nuclear weapons....

According to Mohammad Mohaddessin, of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the main opponents of the Tehran regime, China's agreement to deliver the Calutron system was signed three years ago and the work is due to be completed "within a few mon ths...." Iran continues to insist that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes, but claims by the National Council of Resistance of Iran of a comprehensive nuclear bomb programme have been confirmed by Western intelligence. Earlier this year, a classified r eport to President Rafsanjani of Iran is said to have boasted that the first stage of the production of a nuclear bomb had been completed, and praised Russian and Chinese scientists for their role.

France Soir, France, Oct. 20 - "Presently, we are witnessing the spread of what is called in Algeria as international terrorism.... Iran's strategy is to export an ideological message and announcement of this point that the world of Islam must be under Iran's leadership." This is the theory of Yves Bonnet, former head of the DST. Whether operating in their own country or exporting terrorist operations to France, aren't the Algerian supporters of a radical Islam led by a foreign power?

Yves Bonnet says, "Like Hamas and Hezbollah, GIA is clearly a movement with its own strategy. But every strategy needs a logistical backing. There is no terrorism without foreign support." Endorsing this theory, the Iranian government announced for the first time its criticism of France's policy towards Algeria.

Le Nouvel Observateur, Paris-based, Oct. 21 - "The Minister of Interior thinks that all the attempts are the work of one group, a key member of whom was Khaled Khalkhal... Jean Louis Debre believes that he has enough information to conclude that the Islamists have ordered the recents assassinations... If GIA's claiming responsibility for these attempts are taken seriously, some of the police think that Iran or the Hezbollah of Lebanon are to be held accountable in this case..."

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