TEHRAN, Jan 10 (AFP) - Iran's Intelligence Minister Ghorban-Ali Dorrie-
Najafabadi will stay on in his post despite the admission that secret agents
were involved in the recent murders of intellectuals and political dissidents,
the Tehran Times said Sunday.
The English-language daily, citing "well-informed sources,"
said Dorrie- Najafabadi had first "decided to resign but later changed
his mind" after a speech by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
on Friday praising the performance of his ministry.
Khamenei complimented the intelligence ministry for "showing courage"
in exposing the involvement of its agents in the murders of nationalist
opposition leader Daryush Foruhar and his wife, Parvaneh, on November 22
as well as the kidnappings and murders of several liberal writers in early
December.
"No other secret service in the world would do such a thing ...
The attacks against the ministry are totally unfair," he said.
The wave of murders shocked the nation and led to calls from supporters
of reformist President Mohammad Khatami for structural changes in the government,
mainly the judiciary and secret services.
The hardline Keyhan newspaper said Thursday that Khatami had called
for Dorri- Najafabadi's resignation, but that the ministry has refused
to budge.
The Tehran Times said a number of intelligence officials, including
a director general, had been arrested in connection with the recent murders,
but did not identify them.
While the entire regime has condemned the murders, it has been split
over the motives behind the killings.
Islamic conservatives believe the murders were orchestrated by a "foreign
enemy seeking to destablize the regime," while Khatami's supporters
blame Islamic extremists who have waged a campaign to undermine the president's
reform program.
Khatami said Saturday he was "determined to dry out the roots of
political violence whether they have their roots at home or abroad."
The conservative speaker of parliament Ali-Akbar Nategh-Nuri said Sunday
that "people must be vigilant against the Satanic provocations of
foreigners."
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