DATE=2/6/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAN/BLASTS (L)
NUMBER=2-258866
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=CAIRO
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Iran's opposition People's Mujahedin says it
has stepped up attacks in two provinces in western
Iran, following a mortar attack in Tehran that killed
one person. The group says the mortar attack was
aimed at senior leaders of the Iranian government.
Correspondent Scott Bobb has details from our Middle
East Bureau in Cairo.
TEXT: Workers in Tehran cleaned up glass and debris
outside the building hit in the attack. Official news
media say the attack was aimed at disrupting
celebrations marking the 21st anniversary of the
Iranian revolution and parliamentary elections due in
less than two-weeks.
The opposition People's Mujahedeen, based in
neighboring Iraq, claimed responsibility. The group
says the attack was aimed at the office of Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Offices of President
Mohammed Khatami, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani,
the parliament, and the judiciary are also located in
the area.
The group said the attack was meant to commemorate
students who lost their lives during six-days of
unrest last July. The unrest was sparked by a police
raid on student dormitories after students protested
the closing of a popular reformist newspaper.
Saturday's attack in Tehran comes as the political
atmosphere heats up in anticipation of parliamentary
elections. Although the campaign is not due to open
officially until later this week, tensions are rising
between reformist factions seeking more individual
freedoms, and conservatives who believe such policies
undermine the principles of the Iranian revolution.
A group of conservative clerics and religious students
Saturday ended three-days of demonstrations against
the Minister of Culture. They were protesting
government tolerance of political cartoons in a
reformist newspaper that lampooned a leading
conservative cleric.
An estimated five-thousand protestors gathered
Saturday in the city of Qom, but ended their protest
at the request of Ayatollah Khamenei. The cartoonist
has been arrested and the case is being referred to
Iran's press court. (SIGNED)
NEB/SB/RAE
06-Feb-2000 09:23 AM EDT (06-Feb-2000 1423 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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