News
March 1-5, 1999 / Esfand 10-15,1377
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Today
* Khatami to visit France on April 12
* Judiciary chief warns against politicising election
* Iran rejects GCC statement on islands, maneuvers
* Firms in Iran energy deals seen escaping U.S. sanctions
* Iran charity fears lives endangered by UK probe
Previous
* Writers meet under police protection
following killings
* Religious court bans mention of Montazeri
* Gulf Arabs condemn Iran war games, back UAE
* Oil companies poised for deals in Iran
* Reformers trouncing conservatives in elections
* Latest result of council elections in Tehran
* Amir Entezam's open letter
* Growing opposition to Kadivar's arrest
* West must end Iran isolation, Italy says
* Iran says Khatami to discuss oil deals in Italy
* World Court should hear Iran-UAE case-Kuwait
* Saudi Arabia to receive first Iranian presidential visit
* Hard-liner threatens to nullify votes
* Latest vote count in Tehran
* ''Star Chamber'' arrest hits Iran reformers
* U.S. to review Iran-Europe oil deal
* US senators call for allowing wheat exports to Iran
* U.S. oil firms seen in long wait for end of Iran ban
* Gulf Arabs call emergency meeting on Iran dispute
* Kharrazi holds talks in Saudi Arabia
* Reformers set to capture control of Tehran
* Latest election results in tehran
* Liberal cleric in Iran thrown into jail
* Elf, ENI sign $540 million oil deal with Iran
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Friday
March 5, 1999
* Khatami to visit France on April 12
PARIS, March 5 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami will visit
France on April 12 during a ground-breaking foray into Europe during which
he will also travel to Italy, diplomatic sources said Friday. Khatami,
who will be accompanied by several government ministers, flies to Paris
after a visit to Rome from March 9 to 11 ... FULL
TEXT
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* Judiciary chief warns against politicising election
TEHRAN, March 5 (AFP) - The hardline chief of Iran's judiciary warned
Friday aganist politicising the results of last week's first-ever municipal
elections, a runaway victory for reformers in the Islamic republic. "You
were elected as local officials and should concern yourselves with local
problems, and keep out of factional and partisan disputes," said Ayatollah
Mohammad Yazdi during weekly prayers at Tehran university ... FULL TEXT
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* Iran rejects GCC statement on islands, maneuvers
TEHRAN, March 5 (AFP) - Iran on Friday lashed out at the Gulf Cooperation
Council for demanding an end to Tehran's military maneuvers near three
disputed Gulf islands, accusing the GCC of meddling in its internal affairs.
"Under no circumstances should Iran's current foreign policy of detente,
building trust and promoting ties with other countries, particularly its
neighbors, be interpreted as ignoring the legitimate rights of Iran,"
warned foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi ... FULL
TEXT
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* Non-U.S. firms in Iran energy deals seen escaping U.S. sanctions
NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) - International oil firms keen on Iranian
energy-sector deals face slim risk of U.S. sanctions after Washington failed
to penalise an international consortium that sealed a landmark deal last
year, experts said this week. The potential payoff for many firms seems
to offset even a slight risk, since Iran has the world's second-largest
natural gas reserves and fifth-largest pool of oil reserves ... FULL
TEXT
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* Iran charity fears lives endangered by UK probe
LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Supporters of a charity established to provide
aid to victims of alleged persecution by Iran said on Thursday an investigation
by a British charity watchdog could endanger the lives of hundreds of Iranians.
The organisation is concerned that records held by Iran Aid, a London-based
charity, could fall into Tehran's hands and spark reprisals after the Charity
Commission launched an investigation last May ... FULL
TEXT
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Thursday
March 4, 1999
* Writers meet under police protection following killings
March 4, 1999, (BBC) - The Iranian Writers' Association has met for
the first time since two prominent members of the group were killed in
December by members of the security forces. The killings prompted nationwide
condemnation and today's meeting in Teheran -- attended by about seventy
members -- was held under the protection of the police. It was the first
officially approved gathering of the Writers' Association since the early
years of the Islamic Republic.
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* Religious court bans mention of Montazeri
TEHRAN, March 4 (AFP) - Iran's Islamic hardliners launched a fresh crackdown
on a prominent liberal dissident as pressure mounted Thursday for the release
of one of his jailed associates. A special religious court barred Iran's
newspapers from citing Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, a leading dissident
who has regularly denounced the conservatives' stranglehold over the Iranian
regime, press reports said. The court, in an offical ruling submitted to
the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance, warned that any paper which
even mentions Montazeri will be prosecuted ... FULL
TEXT
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* Gulf Arabs condemn Iran war games, back UAE
ABU DHABI, March 4 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab states on Thursday condemned
Iranian war games in the strategic waterway as ``provocative'' and backed
the United Arab Emirates in a dispute with Iran over three contested islands.
``The ministerial council condemns these provocative Iranian military manoeuvres,
being held by Iran on the three occupied UAE islands...and in (the UAE's)
territorial waters,'' the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states said in
a statement issued after a one-day emergency meeting in the UAE capital
Abu Dhabi ... FULL
TEXT
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* Oil companies poised for deals in Iran
PARIS, March 4 (UPI) -- In what are seen as new, emerging blows to U.
S. government efforts to block large-scale oil investments in Iran, Western
European, British and Canadian oil companies are on the verge of signing
multi-billion dollar oil and gas deals in Tehran. Industry and diplomatic
sources say if deals now in the final stages of negotiation go through,
U.S. oil companies seeking business in Iran will be left handicapped and
on the sidelines, possibly for several more years ... FULL
TEXT
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Wednesday
March 3, 1999
* Reformers trouncing conservatives in landmark Iranian elections
TEHRAN, March 3 (AFP) - Reformists close to moderate Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami were trouncing their conservative competitors, who have
long held the reins of power, according to nationwide municipal election
results published Wednesday. In Tehran, a city of 10 million people, the
reform list headed by former interior minister Abdollah Nuri took 13 of
the 15 municipal council seats in Friday's first-ever municipal elections
in Iran ... FULL
TEXT
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* Latest result of council elections in Tehran
Tehran, march 3, irna -- a total of 522,540 votes have been counted
in tehran by 19:00 hours local time wednesday. according to reports from
the main elections headquarters in tehran, the names of 21 candidates who
have the majority of votes at councils elections are as follows ... FULL TEXT
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* Amir Entezam's open letter
"About Iran"
has translated the following text which is an open letter by Mr. Abbas
Amir-Entezam, the longest held prisoner of conscience under the Islamic
Republic. The Farsi version of this letter was given to "About
Iran" by the Committee in Defense of Abbas Amir-Entezam in New
York.... FULL
TEXT
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* Growing opposition to Kadivar's arrest|
In Persian:
- Ten
newspaper publishers call for investigation
- Ayatollah
Saneie: Can Evin stop thought?
- Hadi Khamenei:
You cannot criminalize thought
- Kargozaran
party condemns arrest
- Students:
People still being jailed for their beliefs
- Ayatollah Yazdi's press conference: Part (1)
(2) (3) (4)
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* West must end Iran isolation, Italy says
ROME, March 3 (Reuters) - Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini said
on Wednesday the West had to end Iran's isolation and show clear support
for President Mohammad Khatami after nationwide polls he described as of
``extraordinary importance.'' Dini, speaking hours before leaving on a
trip to Washington with Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema, said more Western
leaders, while keeping up the pressure over human rights and non-proliferation,
should welcome Khatami and his fellow moderates to their countries ...
FULL
TEXT
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* Iran says Khatami to discuss oil deals in Italy
TEHRAN, March 3 (Reuters) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami will
hold talks on oil cooperation during his visit to Italy next week, a senior
Iranian official said on Wednesday. Deputy Oil Minister Mehdi Hosseini
also said Iran was discussing further projects with Italian energy giant
ENI (ENI.MI), which joined France's Elf Aquitaine (ELFP.PA) in signing
a $1 billion oil deal with Tehran this week, the Iranian news agency IRNA
reported ... FULL
TEXT
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* World Court should hear Iran-UAE case-Kuwait
KUWAIT, March 3 (Reuters) - Kuwait told Iran on Wednesday that a growing
dispute with the United Arab Emirates over three Gulf islands was not in
its interests and called on the two sides to refer the issue to the World
Court. ``If there is no agreement for direct talks, then there is the International
Court of Justice...and I hope that this issue is sent to the court...,''
Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah told reporters ... FULL
TEXT
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* Saudi Arabia to receive first Iranian presidential visit
RIYADH, March 3 (AFP) - Saudi Arabia is set to receive its first Iranian
presidential visit later this month when Mohammad Khatami joins the annual
hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Defence Minister Sultan ibn Abdel Aziz said Wednesday.
The minister, quoted by the official SPA news agency, gave no precise date
for the president's arrival, although the pilgrimage to Mecca starts at
the end of March. Prince Sultan said he would visit Iran "after the
pilgrimage." ... FULL
TEXT
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Tuesday
March 2, 1999
* Hard-liner threatens to nullify votes in Iran's local elections
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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Allies of Iran's moderate president triumphed in
local elections in the capital and prevented hard-liners winning a single
race, according to preliminary results Monday. The tally from Friday's
voting for thousands of municipal council seats elsewhere in Iran may not
be counted for several days. The hard-line chairman of the electoral supervision
board vowed to challenge the results from Tehran ... FULL
TEXT
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* Latest vote count in Tehran
Tehran, March 2, (IRNA) - Reformist candidates are still leading in
the latest vote count in Tehran. The final results are not due until Friday.
Here's a list of the top 21 vote getters ... FULL
PERSIAN IMAGE TEXT
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* ''Star Chamber'' arrest hits Iran reformers
TEHRAN, March 2 (Reuters) - Just as Iran's first nationwide local polls
appeared to cement the power of President Mohammad Khatami and his reformist
allies, hardliners have struck back by jailing one of the country's leading
liberal Islamic thinkers. The detention at the weekend of Mohsen Kadivar
by the Special Court for the Clergy, which meets behind closed doors and
without due process, has touched off a storm of criticism and demands for
the abolition of the court as an undemocratic holdover of a bygone era
... FULL
TEXT
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* U.S. to review Iran-Europe oil deal
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday it
will review a new $1 billion Iran-Europe oil deal for violations of U.S.
sanctions law but the possibility of penalties that could sour trans-Atlantic
ties seemed remote. Nevertheless, State Department spokesman James Foley
noted that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, discussing last year's
decision to waive sanctions on a $2 billion deal involving France's Total
SA and two other firms, promised more waivers for European Union companies
so long as the EU cooperated with Washington on Iran policy ... FULL
TEXT
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* US senators call for allowing wheat exports to Iran
WASHINGTON, March 2 (AFP) - A group of US senators is calling for lifting
restrictions on exports of wheat and other agricultural products to Iran.
Byron Dorgan, a Democrat from North Dakota, and Republicans Larry Craig
of Idaho and Richard Lugar of Indiana, met Monday with national security
adviser Sandy Berger to discuss the matter, spokesmen for the lawmakers
said ... FULL
TEXT
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* U.S. oil firms seen in long wait for end of Iran ban
NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - U.S. oil companies -- eyeing a slice of
Tehran's rich oil and gas projects pie -- are in for a long wait for the
end or an easing of a ban on American investment in Iran, analysts said
on Tuesday. They told an Iran/Iraq energy conference in New York that despite
some improvement in Washington and Tehran relations since the 1997 election
of moderate Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, there would be no tangible
progress before the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act expires in 2001 ... FULL
TEXT
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* Gulf Arabs call emergency meeting on Iran dispute
ABU DHABI, March 2 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday called
an emergency meeting with its Gulf Arab allies to discuss Iranian military
exercises near three disputed islands. ``The UAE called for an emergency
meeting of the ministerial council of the Gulf Cooperation Council to discuss
Iran's violations and the military manoeuvres in the UAE's territorial
waters,'' the official WAM news agency said ... FULL
TEXT
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* Kharrazi holds talks in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, March 2 (Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi
met Saudi Arabia's King Fahd and other senior officials on Tuesday, the
official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. SPA did not give details of
the talks, although officials earlier said Kharrazi was expected to discuss
weak oil prices and a forthcoming visit to the kingdom by Iran's President
Mohammad Khatami ... FULL
TEXT
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Monday
March 1, 1999
* Reformers set to capture control of Tehran in landmark election
TEHRAN, March 1 (AFP) - Reformers close to moderate President Mohammad
Khatami are set to capture control of Tehran city council in the key contest
in Iran's first ever municipal elections, the interior ministry indicated
Monday. Reformers are set to win at least 12 out of the capital's 15 seats,
giving Khatami's supporters a decisive victory in the key battleground
with his conservative opponents, according to the latest results published
by the ministry ... FULL
TEXT
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* Latest election results in tehran
Tehran, march 2, irna -- election headquarters announced on monday that
150,000 ballots had been counted for the islamic council elections in tehran.
here are the names of the top 21 vote getters: ... FULL
TEXT
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* Liberal cleric in Iran thrown into jail
TEHRAN, Feb 28 (AFP) - A liberal cleric close to Iranian President Mohammad
Khatami, was arrested late Saturday and jailed at Evin prison in Tehran,
the official IRNA news agency reported Sunday. Hojatoleslam Mohsen Kadivar,
is also close to liberal circles and to dissident Ayatollah Hossein-Ali
Montazeri, who was once tipped to become the nation's spiritual "guide"
but who fell into disgrace in 1989 ... FULL
TEXT
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* Elf, ENI sign 540 million dollar oil deal with Iran
TEHRAN, Mar 1 (AFP) - Petroleum giants Elf Aquitaine of France and Italy's
ENI signed a 540 million dollar contract Monday to develop an Iranian oil
field despite the threat of US sanctions over heavy investment in Iran's
oil sector. The firms signed the nine-year contract with Deputy Oil Minister
Mehdi Hosseini to increase production at the offshore Dorud field in the
northern Gulf, Iran's oldest operational oil field ... FULL
TEXT
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