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Tuesday, December 24, 1996

Headlines:

-- Sarkoohi: Missing editor reappears
-- Rafsanjani: ``We have heard the bombers are Saudis''
-- "Grave risks" in possible U.S. retaliation
-- Iran third in Asian Cup socce
-- Turkish-Iranian dance raises eyebrows
-- Turkey "like Iran in last years of the shah"

Faraj Sarkoohi, a prominent journalist missing for the past month, has reappeared.

In interviews with the media from Tehran, he has said he had slipped quietly into Germany in order to win custody of his two children and bring them back to Iran.

Lack of knowledge about Sarkoohi's whereabouts had fueled speculation that he may have been arrested by Iran's security agents. Various organizations concerned about the rights of journalists and writers in Iran had appealed for his freedom.

You can read the latest news (in persian) at:

//www.oden.se/~kelk/

Thanks to: Hadi Fahimifar <kelk@oden.se>

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Rafsanjani: ``We have heard the bombers are Saudis''

From wire services

Dec 23 - Iran has received information that the bombers of a U.S. military complex in Saudi Arabia were Saudi citizens, President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was on Monday quoted as saying.

``What we have heard officially is that those involved are Saudi citizens and that some escaped from the kingdom and possibly came to Iran,'' Rafsanjani said.

``We had searched for them carefully and have found no trace of them in Iran. One of them is called Maarouf and was said to be in Iran, then it was discovered that he had died in a Syrian jail,'' he added, but did not elaborate.

Rafsanjani, who was speaking in an interview published on Monday in the Saudi-owned, London-based Asharq al-Awsat, did not say who provided Iran with the official information.

He said Iran carried out a full investigation into reports linking it to the June 25 bombing in which 19 U.S. airmen were killed in the eastern Saudi city of Khobar.

``We carried out comprehensive investigation into the issue and did not find any indication linking the issue to any of our government institutions in Iran. We had ruled this out from the start considering government institutions in Iran oppose such acts,'' he added.

U.S. media reports had linked Iran to the bombing and said some of the bombers had been to Iran and received training at pro-Iranian Hizbollah camps in Lebanon.

Iranian officials have denied the charges and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati said in Tehran on Sunday that Iran ``categorically rejects the charges no matter who raises them.''

The U.S. administration has said it had not yet concluded who was responsible for the bombing, but Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said the U.S. media reports indicated Washington was preparing to attack Iran.

Saudi Arabia has said the U.S. media reports were unreliable and added that it would announce the results of the probe into the bombing.

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From: Reza F. Bourghani <davood@ix.netcom.com>

U.S. Mulls Possible Response to Iran in Saudi Bombing

By Thomas W. Lippman and Bradley Graham Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, December 22 1996; Page A30

Although they insist it is premature to plan any retaliation against Iran for complicity in the bombing of a U.S. military housing compound in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans, U.S. officials have begun to think about possible responses if the investigation turns up incontrovertible evidence of Iranian involvement.

The United States could pursue a broad range of military, political and economic actions against Iran, Clinton administration officials and independent analysts said, but most options -- and especially any direct military strike -- carry grave risks.

"The potential universe [of actions] is quite wide. The real universe carries downsides," a senior administration official said.

For example, he and others said, the most obvious form of retaliation, a military strike to shut down Iran's oil export terminal at Kharg Island, might inflict severe economic damage on Iran but it could also drive up oil prices, causing economic pain in Europe and Japan and increasing pressure to lift economic sanctions on Iraq...

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The Iranian national soccer team won third place in the Asian Cup championships by defeating Kuwait 4-3 Saturday.

The two teams were tied 1-1 after two halves of play and extra time. Iran outscored Kuwait 3-2 in the penalty shoot out.

Saudi Arabia defeated the U.A.E. in the finals, becoming Asian champs. This game was also decided in a penalty shootout: Saudi Arabia 4, U.A.E. 2

To read the Iran-Kuwait game report in Hamshahri, go to:

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You need Persian fonts to see the news in Persian. If you have not installed it, go to these sites for free download and installation instructions:

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or:

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From: Reza F. Bourghani <davood@ix.netcom.com>

Turkey's blossoming ties with Iran are raising eyebrows across the Mideast, as well as suspicion in Washington that a crucial NATO ally is straying from the pro-West path.

Despite vocal opposition from the United States - which has increasingly sought to isolate Tehran for its alleged sponsorship of terrorism - Turkey and Iran vowed Dec. 21 to double bilateral trade next year to $2 billion and signed several trade agreements in Ankara, Turkey's capital.

The deal comes amid reports from Washington that the US is considering military strikes against Iran if presented with conclusive evidence that it was involved in the June 25 Al-Khobar blast that killed 19 American servicemen in Saudi Arabia.

The accords, however, also come just two weeks after Turkey's first Islamist prime minister, Necmettin Erbakan, bowed to his staunchly pro-West armed forces and signed a $600-million deal with Israel to modernize Turkish F-4 fighter-bombers...

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From: Reza F. Bourghani <davood@ix.netcom.com>

Ignoring U.S., Turkey and Iran Sign Trade Accords

By Kelly Couturier Special to The Washington Post Sunday, December 22 1996; Page A31

ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 21 -- NATO member Turkey today signed several accords with Iran designed to bolster trade between the neighboring countries, ignoring a U.S. call to isolate Tehran.

The agreements, designed to double the trade volume between Turkey and Iran to $2 billion, were signed near the end of a four-day visit to Turkey by Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani that has caused concern in Washington.

The accords illustrated the warming of relations between Turkey and Iran that has been fostered by Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. Erbakan visited Iran shortly after taking office in June and concluded a $23 billion natural gas deal. Turkish officials said construction of a pipeline to carry the Iranian gas to Turkey will begin next year.

According to diplomatic sources in Ankara, the United States has expressed "very serious reservations" about the rapprochement between its NATO ally and Iran, which it accuses of funding terrorism directed against NATO and Western targets...

Rafsanjani's daughter, Faezeh, created some commotion among secular Turks by stating that "Ankara resembles Iran during the last years of the shah." A legislator from the center-right coalition partner True Path Party, Ali Riza Gonul, protested, saying that "a guest should respect the hospitality shown to her" and that her remarks "were of a very distressing nature."...

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