From: sehari@iastate.edu (Babak Sehari)
Subject: Headline News about Iran, April 9th,1992
Originator: sehari@vincent1.iastate.edu
Organization: Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa.
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 08:01:32 GMT

     'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 14:41 Wed Apr 08  EXP: 15:00 Thu Apr 09 

FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN 

TEHRAN (APRIL 8) XINHUA - IRANIAN POLICE THIS WEEK SEIZED FIVE TONS OF OPIUM IN
THE SOUTHEASTERN PROVINCES OF SISTAN AND BALUCHESTAN. 

THE LOCAL EVENING DAILY "KAYHAN" REPORTED TODAY THAT DRUG SMUGGLERS LEFT BEHIND
THEIR GOODS AFTER AN EXCHANGE OF FIRE WITH LOCAL POLICEMEN. 

AT LEAST THREE WERE KILLED OR INJURED BY POLICE IN THE CLASH, THE REPORT SAID. 

DURING THE PAST IRANIAN CALENDAR YEAR WHICH ENDED MARCH 20, MORE THAN 41 TONS
OF NARCOTICS WERE SEIZED AND 20,000 DRUG SMUGGLERS AND 59,000 ADDICTS WERE
ARRESTED IN IRAN. 

UNDER IRAN'S ANTI-DRUG LAW, ANYBODY CAUGHT WITH  MORE THAN 30 GRAMS OF HEROIN
OR FIVE KGS OF OPIUM WILL BE SENTENCED TO DEATH. 

HUNDREDS HAVE BEEN EXECUTED SINCE THE LAW TOOK EFFECT IN JANUARY 1989. 


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=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 09:50 Tue Apr 07  EXP: 10:00 Fri Apr 10 

IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION 

BONN (APRIL 7) MIDDLE EAST NEWS NETWORK - Rayanesaz, a leading computer
hardware company, is the only Iranian company at the Iranian pavilion at the
Sebit International Exposition in Hanover. 

About 5,300 manufacturers from 43 countries are participating at the exposition
in Hanover which features computers, office machines, and electronic,
communications and telecommunications equipment. 

The participation by the Iranian computer company has been widely acclaimed by
the media in Germany. 

The company's products being exhibited at the pavilion are Persian-English
computer terminals and two types of 286 computers manufactured by Rayanesaz. 

The exhibition opened on Wednesday and will continue until next Wednesday.
About 600,000 visitors are expected to visit the Sebit Exhibition. 

From: Tehran Times. 
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=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 09:43 Tue Apr 07  EXP: 10:00 Fri Apr 10 

IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE 

TEHRAN (APRIL 7) MIDDLE EAST NEWS NETWORK - The private sector will be allowed
to import red meat with floating rate of foreign exchange to meet part of the
country's demand, said an official of the Construction Jihad ministry here
Wednesday. 

According to a Majlis ratification, the government is to reduce import of red
meat in order to protect domestic producers. However, in light of the growing
domestic demand for meat, the high economic council has adopted the decision to
meet the shortage. 

From: Tehran Times. 



=END= 

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    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 14:52 Tue Apr 07  EXP: 15:00 Fri Apr 10 

SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN IRAN 

(APRIL 7) MIDDLE EAST NEWS NETWORK - FEW consumer products manufactured in the
Kingdom are more applicable to the Saudi market than those made by Al-Essa
Industries. As the Kingdom's largest producer of air conditioning units, the
company has filled a vital role in Saudi Arabia's development and is now
expanding beyond the Kingdom's boundaries in a major way. 

Al-Essa is already a supplier of top-ofthe-line air conditioners to 14 foreign
destinations, some as far away as Thailand and Paraguay. And the company is now
working on deals in another eight international markets, including those in
Europe, Japan, Australia and the US. 

But in perhaps the company's most important development since its organisation
13 year ago, Al-Essa is now finalising an agreement with business and
government officials in Iran, where it plans to establish a plant. 

''Within five years that plant will be a replica of our plant here,'' said Syed
Hesham Ahmed, Al-Essa's executive vice president. 

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Iran is expected to be an important market for the company, which will save a
great deal on customs and taxes once its units are assembled there. ''By doing
this we will be very competitive, as compared to any of the units that are
being imported to the Iranian market,'' he said. 

Al-Essa has other innovative projects in the making. At Saudi Aircon '91 last
September, the company showed off a prototype of the world's first ozone
friendly air conditioner, patented by two American inventors who were so
impressed by Al-Essa that they signed a joint-venture agreement with the
company to bring their concept to the commercial viability. 

The compressor-free system, which uses no chlorofluorocarbons that deplete the
Earth's protective ozone layer, is now undergoing testing in Al-Essa's research
and development wing. By 1994 the company will be producing 20,000 units a year
which are expected to sell well particularly in Western markets. 

In another development due by year's end, Al-Essa will start supplying its
agents with capsule units. These new window mounted models combine the cost and
space-efficiency of single unit room air conditioners. 

Al-Essa Industries National Factory for Air Conditioners, a subsidiary of Hamid
Abdullah Al-Essa and Sons, was established under the banner of the Al-Essa
group of companies, which have imported appliances, electronic products,
perfumes and textiles to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for nearly a century. 

When it started operations in 1979, the air conditioning business, presided
until now by Fahd S. Al-Essa, began producing 20,000 to 25,000 room units
annually under the Gibson brand name. ''The future has proven tremendous
growth,'' Ahmed told the Gazette. 

As the early years passed, the company began to develop its own expertise and
model its product to meet special demands of the harsh Saudi climate. 

As Al-Essa enjoyed a healthy market during the Kingdom's boom years, it passed
an important milestone by becoming the first company outside Japan to develop,
manufacture and market a side discharge unit. Good times helped the company
surpass its 1984 production goal of 50,000 units. 

During the following few years, when oil prices sank, relative recession hit
the market and some Saudi companies shrivelled or died, Al-Essa delayed further
expansion and began focusing on other aspects of the business. 

''We looked at diversifying our product line and improving our credibility and
flexibility for our costumers' specific needs,'' Ahmed said. ''During every
year of this tough period, we concentrated on another improvement _ safety,
operation, the facade, noise reduction, and myriad other features.'' 

The company's inward investment paid off with, among other improvements, the
development of a 50-cycle unit, which is applicable to the electrical standards
of most foreign markets. Now 50 percent of its total production volume is
exported. And Al-Essa's current field complaints are down to a slight fraction
of a percent. 

During the past decade as economic conditions have improved, Al-Essa has again
expanded its factory capacity, made commercial inroads into several other
countries and is now producing more than 250,000 units a year. 

''We're now going through our second expansion, which will be completed by the
end of the year. Once it is, we'll be at a production level of 400,000 units
per year,'' Ahmed said. ''In financial terms, we project a turnover this year
of about SR300 million.'' 

Al-Essa's factory, located just south of Riyadh on the Al-Kharj Highway,
employs nearly 300 engineers, technicians and assembly-line workers from India 
the Philippines, Pakistan, Egypt and a handful of Saudis who work in two
10-hour shifts. 

The company property is a mini-town in itself, with housing, catering and a
large farming area, as well as a transportation service that takes the
employees into the capital twice a week. Recreation facilities are provided and
the company sponsors both sports competitions within the compound and an
Al-Essa team that competes with outside groups. 

These workers, together with a foresighted management, has helped Al- Essa
becomes the Kingdom's foremost supplier of air conditioners. 

Saudi Arabia's current total requirement for room units is 500,000 to 600,000
units, with 65 percent of that requirement filled by local manufacturers and
the rest imported. Al-Essa garners about half of the local share, which
translates into 25 percent of the Saudi market total. 

The company now looks toward further diversification into such products as
refrigerators, chest freezers, washing machines, water coolers and evaporative
air coolers. 

The manufacturer has also made Saudi Arabia recognised among non-oil industrial
circles, for Al-Essa is well-known elsewhere as well. Last year the company put
together an impressive exhibit at the International Air Conditioning, Heating
and Refrigeration Exposition in southern California. 

It was the only Saudi company to participate in a US exhibition, ''and we've
already signed up for next year's show in Chicago,'' Ahmed said. 

During the show, he and company president, Fahd Al-Essa, received several
potential inquiries from various parts of North America. Ahmed sees especially
important markets in Arizona, Nevada and Texas, for example _ regions with a
climate similar to that of the Kingdom. 

From: Saudi Gazette 



=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 14:36 Tue Apr 07  EXP: 15:00 Fri Apr 10 

IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST YEAR 

TEHRAN (APRIL 7) MIDDLE EAST NEWS NETWORK - The private sector in Iran built
71,000 housing units and apartments during the calendar year 1369 (ended March
20, 1991). 

In 1990-91 the total investment of the private sector in new buildings in rural
areas, at current prices, was about rls. 1,353,000 million that is up by 26.8
percent as compared to the previous year. 

More than half of that investment was done in the three provinces of Tehran,
Isfahan and Khorasan. The share of Tehran Province was 31.1 percent, Isfahan
12.2 percent and Khorasan 9.5 percent. 

A publication issued by the economic statistics department of the Central Bank
last month said that in the same year investment in Tehran Province was up by
23.1 percent, in Isfahan Province up by 23.9 percent, and Khorasan by 13.3
percent as compared to the previous year. The bulk of investment on the housing
projects in the three provinces was made for the completion of unfinished
buildings. 
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During the year 76,172 new buildings started in urban areas of Iran, that was
up by 5.5 percent as compared with the year before. The estimated cost for the
said buildings was about rls. 1,386,000 million and their estimated under-roof
area was about 17.1 million square meters. 

The average cost of buildings just started in that year was rls. 18.2 million,
that is 49.7 percent more than in the previous year. The average under-roof
area of those buildings in the urban areas of the country was 224 square
meters, that is 3.2 percent more than it was in the 1989-90, and the average
building cost for each square meter of building was rls. 81,223, that is up by
45.1 percent. 

Of the entirety of the new buildings undertaken in urban areas during the said
year, 10.4 percent was undertaken in Tehran Province, 13.4 percent in Khorasan 
10.7 percent in Fars and 8.7 percent in Mazandaran. 

In that year 7,889 buildings were expected to be built in Tehran Province with
a capital investment of rls. 437,000 million, with a total under-roof area of
about four million. The number of those buildings was 3.1 percent more than it
was in the previous year. 

Of the total 72,938 buildings in the urban areas about 95.8 percent were
residential buildings, down by 4.5 percent as compared with the previous year. 

The capital investment on those buildings was about 1,360,000 million and their
total under-roof area was about 15.8 million square meters. 

The average cost of each residential building in 1990 was rls. 17.3 million,
the total under-roof area of each building 216 square meters and the average
cost of building per square meter was rls. 79,972 which is respectively up by
45.9 percent, 1.9 percent and 43.2 percent as compared with the previous year. 

The number of new residential buildings in Tehran Province which started in
1990 was 7,751 that is 2.4 percent higher than in the previous year. 

During 1990 some 71,912 buildings in urban areas were completed by the private
sector that is 24.9 percent less than in 1989. The combined cost of those
buildings was rls. 932,000 million and their combined under roof area was about
15.8 million square meters. 

The average cost of each building in the urban areas in that year was about
rls. 13 million, up by 44.5 percent as compared with the previous year. The
average under-roof area of those buildings was 220 square meters that is 9.6
percent more than in the previous year. The average cost of building each
square meter of those buildings in that year was rls. 58,906 that is 31.8
percent higher than in the previous year. 

In 1990 of the total buildings in urban areas 68,764 were residential buildings
that is 23.9 percent lower than in the previous year. The cost of those
buildings was rls. 870,000 million and their under-roof area combined was about
14.6 million square meters. Of the total buildings in Tehran Province 5,265
were residential, down by 39.4 percent as compared with the previous year. 

In 1990 of the total 68,764 buildings about 82.5 percent had a business space
in addition to one residential unit and 11.5 percent had a business space in
addition to two residential units. The total residential units in residential
buildings and same buildings with a business space was 93,313 that is 18.6
percent less than in the previous year. The average area of each residential
unit in those buildings was about 157 square meters. 

During the same period of the total residential buildings mentioned above, 19.4
percent were in Tehran Province, 13.8 percent in Isfahan Province and 9.9
percent in Khorasan Province. 

From: Tehran Times. 



=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 14:29 Tue Apr 07  EXP: 14:00 Fri Apr 10 

IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR 

TEHRAN (APRIL 7) MIDDLE EAST NEWS NETWORK - Exports of handwoven Persian
carpets fetched the country one billion dollars this year (ending 20 March),
head of the Exports Promotion Center Mustafa Hashemi announced yesterday. 

According to Hashemi the figure showed a ten-fold profit, as only 100 million
dollars went towards material and labor costs. 

Hashemi said handwoven carpets top the list of Iranian non-oil exports, and
therefore the objection raised by some quarters that carpet exports would lead
to the exploitation of workers, was not logical. 

In related News, Hashemi's advisor Ali Husseini said the center held a total of
60 exhibits both at home and abroad during the year and helped the country
export 2.2 billion dollars worth of Iranian products. 

From: Tehran Times. 


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=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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or <P>revious?

=START=   XMT: 14:22 Tue Apr 07  EXP: 14:00 Fri Apr 10 

IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN 

TEHRAN (APRIL 7) MIDDLE EAST NEWS NETWORK - The Islamic Republic Post Company
has undertaken to issue a series of stamps for the newly independent republic
of Azerbaijan, the company's managing director Mohammad Maleki Tabar told
reporters Saturday. 

He said the first series of stamps would commemorate Azerbaijan's independence
from Soviet rule, Nowruz festivities in Azerbaijan (March 21 - the start of the
new calendar year) and renowned Azeri masters of Persian poetry such as Nizami
Ganjevi and Ostad Shahriyar. 

According to Maleki Tabar, Iranian and Azerbaijani officials have agreed to set
up postal ties in order to facilitate transit of parcels between the two
countries. 

The agreements were reached between the two countries during the recent visit
to Tehran of Azerbaijani deputy minister of post and communications, he said. 

From: Tehran Times. 
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=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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or <P>revious?

=START=   XMT: 10:59 Wed Apr 08  EXP: 11:00 Thu Apr 09 

IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991 

(APRIL 8) MIDDLE EAST NEWS NETWORK - Handwoven Persian carpets earned Iran one
billion dollars last year from export sales, according to the Tehran Times 
quoting the official news agency IRNA. 

From: INSIGHT/MIDDLE EAST UPDATE 



=END= 

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    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 11:16 Wed Apr 08  EXP: 11:00 Thu Apr 09 

RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY 

(APRIL 8) MIDDLE EAST NEWS NETWORK - Some media sources in Moscow, asserted
that Russia has sold three submarines to Iran, adding that the Russian Minister
for External Economic Relations himself had signed the sale contract. 

From: Middle East Observer 



=END= 

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    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 10:36 Tue Apr 07  EXP: 11:00 Tue Apr 14 

ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING 

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (APRIL 7) UPI - Gulf environmental officials said
Tuesday oil pollution in the region is worsening as oil tankers routinely empty
sludge directly into the waterway, mostly to avoid increased dumping fees. 

Delegates and speakers at the Middle East Environmental Conference said that
the 6-8 million barrel Gulf War oil spill only added to the already serious
problem of illegal oil sludge dumping. 

''Our environmental concerns have been greatly heightened as a result of the
major (war) pollution, let alone the ongoing seepage of oil from tankers,''
said U.A.E. Minister of Health Ahmed Bin Saeed al Badi. 

Dubai government officials and an oil executive at the conference told United
Press International that most of the gulf pollution seen now is not a result of
the war but of unlawful discharge of bilges offshore. 

''This has increased since fees for dumping were raised last year,'' an
official said. 
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The officials said fee increases for legal oil dumping at the U.A.E. 's
hazardous waste sites were discouraging users from using proper tank
facilities. They also said tankers found it inconvenient to use the waste site
when they can just flush sludge directly into the waterway. 

The U.A.E. is particularly susceptible to offshore dumping, as scores of
tankers - sometimes as many as 90 at a time - line up at the mouth of the
southern Gulf waiting to enter the waterway to load with oil in Iran or Saudi
Arabia, an oil executive said. 

''They have to clean out before they can reload,'' he said. 

A Dubai municipality official said they are aware of the problems of illegal
dumping onshore and offshore. 

''The fees were raised to encourage owners to limit the amount of waste they
generate,'' Jon Ward, head of the municipality's environmental section, told
UPI. ''We have to make people pay the real cost of waste disposal. We can't
give them cheap disposal routes and then expect them to change.'' 

Each year about 4,000 tons of oil sludge is legally dumped in Dubai's
designated waste site, the only one in the lower Gulf before reaching oil
loading platforms. The government officials who spoke to UPI did not know how
much is illegally dumped on and offshore. One official said tankers sometimes
carry up to 18 tons of sludge. 



=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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or <P>revious?

=START=   XMT: 10:05 Wed Apr 08  EXP: 10:00 Thu Apr 09 

U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE 

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (APRIL 8) UPI - The commander of a U.S. Navy battle
group in the Persian Gulf said Wednesday his men were closely monitoring the
renewed flights by the Iraqi air force over the southern Iraq-Iran border. 

Rear Adm. Douglas Katz, commander of the USS America battle group, said his
ships were carefully observing events and awaiting the outcome of discussions
in Washington on whether the Iraqi air force could defend itself north of the
Persian Gulf War cease-fire line if it is attacked again by Iran. 

''We're monitoring their aircraft flights like we always do,'' Katz said.
''We're just watching them more closely. We're still at war. This is the
finality of Operation Desert Storm. We're still not sure what Iraq is going to
do.'' 

After Sunday's Iranian air strike against Iraq, the Iraqi air force resumed
flying in the first sorties by its battered forces since the war. 

U.S. sources said Iraqi warjet flights over southern Iraq were not in an area
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north of the 36th parallel, where Iraqi flights are banned under a cease-fire
agreement signed with a U.S.-led coalition forces which drove Iraqi forces out
of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War. 

The Iraqi sorties concerned Washington, but the Pentagon said Tuesday there was
no explicit cease-fire rule forbidding Iraq to fly south of the 36th parallel. 

Katz said the U.S. Navy monitors air traffic in Iraq with electronic
surveillance, radar, and shipboard intelligence. ''They were defending
themselves and they flew aircraft and we've allowed that to happen,'' he said. 

Capt. Kent Ewing, commander of the aircraft carrier's flight wing, said his 76
jets routinely conduct exercises every day. Katz said they do not fly into
Iraqi territory, even in the cease-fire area, which creates a security buffer
south of the 36th parallel. 

Asked about the navy's response if Iraq had to fly north of the cease-fire line
to defend itself, Katz said, ''The military and the U.S. State Department are
looking at that very question and discussing it. We're waiting and watching,
never sure what could happen.'' 

The USS America is in the gulf enforcing U.N. sanctions and the cease-fire
agreement signed in March 1991 after a U.S.-led coalition drove Iraq out of
Kuwait. 

Security Council resolutions 687 and 688 superseded Iraq's initial agreement
not to fly its combat aircraft anywhere in the country. The resolutions order
Iraq to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction but do not ban Iraqi flights.
But Baghdad is forbidden to fly in the case- fire area in order to assure
protection for Iraq's Kurdish minority. 



=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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or <P>revious?

=START=   XMT: 12:45 Wed Apr 08  EXP: 13:00 Thu Apr 09 

IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO 

ATHENS, GREECE (APRIL 8) UPI - A Baghdad-based Iranian rebel group whose
training camp inside Iraq was attacked by Iranian warplanes three days ago,
said Wednesday that Tehran began planning the raid weeks before it was
launched, and postponed it at least once. 

The Mojahedin Khalq Organization, referring to the Iranian air attack Sunday on
its base near Khalis, north of Baghdad, said it received its information from
inside Iran, and the confessions of two pilots captured after their plane was
shot down. 

In a statement faxed to Athens, the Mojahedin Khalq, or People's Holy Warrior
group, said the Iranian government ''deliberated and decided on the operation
... some time ago,'' but the final decision ''was made at a top secret meeting
on March 15.'' 

Sunday, Iraq's official news agency reported that eight Iranian warplanes
crossed the border into Iraq to bomb the Mojahedin Khalq training base near
Khalis. It said one plane was shot down and its crew captured. 
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Western analysts said the Iranian air raid has increased tension in the Persian
Gulf region. Iraq announced Monday that it was resuming air patrols along the
Iranian border to forestall further raids. 

Tuesday, Tehran warned that clashes between Iran and Iraq could break out, if
Baghdad continued to support the Mojahedin. 

Iran, Iraq and the Mojahedin Khalq lodged separate complaints with the United
Nations, each demanding condemnation of the other side. 

The Mojahedin, whose NLAI fighters made several attacks inside Iran during the
1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, said Sunday that their guerrillas were preparing for a
''last and final assault'' on Iran in a bid to topple the ruling clerics. 

In its statement Wednesday, the Mojahedin Khalq group said Iran prepared 12 F-4
Phantoms for the attack inside Iraq, but ''three fighters had mechanical
difficulties and were obliged to return to the Nojeh base,'' near Hamedan. 

The Iranian rebels, who have an armed wing called the National Liberation Army
of Iran with several training bases in Iraq, said the raid was originally
scheduled for March 21, the Iranian New Year, with 22 planes taking part. 

However, the March 21 operation was canceled, because Iran's ruling clerics
were informed that the plan had leaked, and that the rebels had canceled a
scheduled gathering at the base to mark Now Ruz, with Mojahedin Khalq leader
Massoud Rajavi attending. 

New plans were drawn up, and ''the final decision to launch the operation was
made on April 4,'' the statement said. To prevent a second leak ''all telephone
communications and access to or from Nojeh Air Base was prohibited '' it said. 

To justify the attack, the official Iranian news agency ''falsely reported that
a group of Mojahedin had attacked two unidentified villages in Western Iran,''
the rebel group said. 

After the raid, the Iranian warplanes ''landed at Saqqez Air Base upon their
return to Iran,'' it said. 

Gen. Sirous Bahari, the Iranian air force deputy commander for operations, took
part in the raid, the statement said. Col. Qassem Amini, a top commander at
Nojeh, was captured with his navigator when his F-4 was shot down during the
raid. 



=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 17:09 Wed Apr 08  EXP: 17:00 Thu Apr 09 

IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS 

WASHINGTON (APRIL 8) UPI - Iraqi radar operators who control surface-to-air
missiles have electronically tracked allied warplanes flying armed
reconnaissance missions near the Turkish border, Defense Department officials
said Wednesday. 

The officials, who spoke under conditions of anonymity, said Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein also has moved ''a variety'' of missiles just south of the 36th
parallel. Iraqi armed forces may not operate north of this line under the terms
of the cease-fire in the Persian Gulf War. 

The radars ''locked on'' U.S., British, French and Turkish warjets flying armed
reconnaissance missions over north Iraq with Operation Provide Comfort, a joint
allied effort to protect Kurdish refugees, they said. 

In London, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister John Major said that in the last 10
days, Iraq has moved anti-aircraft missiles and associated radar units into
northern Iraq, north of the 36th parallel, threatening U.S., British and French
planes patrolling the region to protect the Kurdish population. 
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During a meeting Wednesday, Major and Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed how to respond to the movement of the
missiles, the spokeswoman said. 

U.S. F-16 and A-10 fighters, F-111 long-range fighter-bombers, KC-135 tankers,
Turkish F-4 fighters, British Jaguar fighters and French Mirage fighters are
among the aircraft participating in the missions out of Incirlik Air Base in
southern Turkey. 

National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, in an interview on Cable News
Network, said the military activity ''is part of Saddam's manuevering, and we
take it very, very seriously.'' 

Scowcroft said ''it's unclear'' what the Iraqi leader was trying to do, but
added, ''There is only one real reason for surface-to-air batteries, and it is
very close to the security zone we have.'' 

Defense Department officials said Iraqi radar units have tracked allied
aircraft ''a number of times,'' but not on a daily basis. 

''I don't want you to get the impression that it's happening every day,'' a
Defense Department official said. ''But it is happening, and even once is too
much. ... It has not been taken lightly - we can't afford any mistakes.'' 

The officials, who declined to comment on ''rules of engagement'' governing
when a pilot is allowed to pull the trigger, said nevertheless that allied
fliers ''will protect themselves.'' 

''Firing on radar is a step that could be taken,'' he said. ''But it has not
been taken.'' 

The U.S. F-4G Wild Weasel is specifically designed to ferret out radar sites
and destroy them with Harm and Shrike missiles that home in on electronic
emanations. It was used with deadly accuracy during the Persian Gulf War. 

Generally, U.S. Air Force rules of engagement call for pilots to first take
evasive action when they detect radar tracking. The next step is to attack the
radar site, but radar tracking of allied planes or movement of missiles is not
specifically addressed in the cease-fire agreement with Iraq. 

The missiles Saddam has moved near the northern towns of Mosul and Erbil may be
used to suppress a Kurdish revolt, Defense Department officials said. Iraq in
recent weeks has renewed artillery attacks against Kurdish rebel enclaves in
the north. 

Iraqi 155mm cannons have been aimed at villages along the Great Zab River,
specifically at a bridge in the town of Aski Kalak used to supply Kurdish
rebels seeking to overthrow Saddam, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
said last week. 

''We characterize the situation as one of continued troop movements and
skirmishes between Iraqi forces and Kurds,'' he said. ''I wouldn't characterize
it at this point as a major offensive.'' 

Iraq also has ''reinforced its positions'' near Kirkuk and Mosul, he said, and
U.N. peacekeeping forces have evacuated 400 Kurds from the area near the bridge
in Aski Kalak. 

Allied forces established a security zone north of the 36th parallel following
a failed Kurdish rebellion after the Persian Gulf War. It was designed to
bolster the cofidence of 1.5 million Kurdish refugees in Iran and Turkey so
that they would return home. 

Iraqi warplanes Sunday flew for the first time since Operation Desert Storm.
Defense Department spokesman Pete Williams said, however, they were just
training flights and did not violate peace accords. 

In a related development, the commander of a U.S. Navy battle group in the
Persian Gulf said Wednesday his men were closely monitoring the renewed flights
by the Iraqi air force over the southern Iraq-Iran border. 

Rear Adm. Douglas Katz, commander of the USS America battle group, said in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that his ships were carefully observing events and
awaiting the outcome of discussions in Washington on whether the Iraqi air
force could defend itself north of the Persian Gulf War cease-fire line if it
is attacked again by Iran. 

''We're monitoring their aircraft flights like we always do,'' Katz said.
''We're just watching them more closely. We're still at war. This is the
finality of Operation Desert Storm. We're still not sure what Iraq is going to
do.'' 



=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 16:32 Wed Apr 08  EXP: 16:00 Thu Apr 09 

WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES 

NEW YORK (APRIL 8) UPI - Foreign Exchange interbank buyer rates and foreign
currency equivalents, provided by Bloomberg Financial Markets and other
sources. Retail transactions provide fewer units of foreign currency per
dollar. 


                           U.S.$        currency 
                         Equivalent     per U.S.$ 
                       Wed     Tue     Wed     Tue 
 Argntn peso        1.0309  1.0101  0.9700  0.9900 
 Australia dlr       .7591   .7628  1.3173  1.3110 
 Austria schill      .0873   .0873   11.45   11.46 
 Belgium franc-c     .0299   .0299   33.46   33.42 
 Brazil cruzado      .0005   .0005 2005.81 2045.99 
 Britain pound      1.7490  1.7500   .5718   .5714 
 Britain 1-mo       1.7397  1.7404   .5748   .5746 
 Britain 3-mo       1.7213  1.7220   .5810   .5807 
 Britain 6-mo       1.6936  1.6950   .5905   .5900 
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 Canada dollar       .8410   .8419  1.1891  1.1878 
 Canada 1-mo         .8382   .8400  1.1930  1.1905 
 Canada 3-mo         .8342   .8359  1.1988  1.1963 
 Canada 6-mo         .8342   .8298  1.2076  1.2051 
 Chile peso-f      .002969 .002967  336.82  337.06 
 China yuan          .1862   .1862  5.3715  5.3715 
 Colombia peso     .001760 .001760  568.23  568.23 
 Denmark krne        .1584   .1586  6.3150  6.3040 
 Ecudr sucre-z     .000766 .000766 1306.01 1306.01 
 Egypt pound         .3003   .3003  3.3300  3.3300 
 Finlnd mrkka        .2242   .2254  4.4600  4.4375 
 France franc        .1815   .1819  5.5105  5.4985 
 France 1-mo         .1805   .1809  5.5379  5.5270 
 France 3-mo         .1789   .1793  5.5906  5.5785 
 France 6-mo         .1779   .1783  5.6210  5.6090 
 Greece drach      .005269 .005269  190.90  190.90 
 Hollnd guildr       .5460   .5469  1.8314  1.8285 
 HongKong dlr        .1293   .1292  7.7340  7.7371 
 India rupee         .0345   .0346   29.01   28.90 
 Indo'sa rupia     .000497 .000497 2012.52 2012.52 
 Iran rial           .0142   .0142   70.30   70.30 
 Iraq dinar         2.6546  2.6546  0.3767  0.3767 
 Ireland punt       1.6380  1.6360  0.6105  0.6112 
 Israel shekel       .4248   .4248  2.3542  2.3542 
 Italy lira        .000815 .000816 1227.00 1225.25 
 Japan yen         .007539 .007519  132.65  133.00 
 Japan 1-mo        .007535 .007515  132.72  133.06 
 Japan 3-mo        .007529 .007509  132.82  133.17 
 Japan 6-mo        .007524 .007505  132.90  133.24 
 Jordan dinar       1.4925  1.4925   .6700   .6700 
 Kuwait dinar       3.3898  3.3933  0.2950  0.2951 
 Lebanon pnd       .000841 .000841 1350.00 1350.00 
 Mexico peso-z     .000327 .000327 3059.00 3059.00 
 N.Zealand dlr       .5435   .5422  1.8399  1.8443 
 Norway krne         .1564   .1564  6.3950  6.3950 
 Pakistn rupee       .0402   .0402   24.95   24.85 
 Peru (new sol)     1.0870  1.0870  0.9200  0.9200 
 P'pnes peso-z       .0412   .0412   24.25   24.25 
 Portugl escud     .007130 .007163  140.25  139.60 
 Saudi riyal         .2665   .2666  3.7520  3.7505 
 Singapore dlr       .6061   .6049  1.6500  1.6532 
 S.Africa rand       .3482   .3481  2.8720  2.8730 
 S.Korea won       .001262 .001262  792.39  792.39 
 Spain peseta      .009667 .009692  103.45  103.18 
 Sweden krona        .1693   .1696  5.9075  5.8948 
 Switzrl franc       .6689   .6711  1.4950  1.4900 
 Switzrl 1-mo        .6664   .6684  1.5006  1.4961 
 Swirzrl 3-mo        .6616   .6634  1.5115  1.5074 
 Switzrl 6-mo        .6552   .6570  1.5262  1.5220 
 Taiwan dollar       .0398   .0397   25.15   25.19 
 Turkey lira       .000161 .000161 6229.00 6229.02 
 UAE dirham          .2723   .2723  3.6725  3.6725 
 Urug'y peso-z     .000367 .000367 2728.01 2728.01 
 Venez bolivr-z      .0157   .0154   63.88   65.00 
 Germany mark        .6148   .6158  1.6265  1.6240 
 Germany 1-mo        .6119   .6128  1.6342  1.6319 
 Germany 3-mo        .6065   .6073  1.6489  1.6465 
 Germany 6-mo        .5984   .5995  1.6710  1.6680 
 Yugosl dinar      .009727 .009727  102.81  102.81 


 c-Commercial; f-Financial; z-Floating; x-N. Y. Money Market. 
 Interbank Buyers Rates 
 Source: Bloomberg Financial Markets and other sources. 



=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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=START=   XMT: 17:41 Wed Apr 08  EXP: 18:00 Thu Apr 09 

OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET 

(APRIL 8) UPI - Oil prices jumped on world markets Wednesday in face of a
decline in U.S. oil inventories and political tensions within several
oil-producing nations that could affect petroleum exports. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate - the principal
U.S. crude for immediate delivery - rose 39 cents to $20.62 a barrel. 

Stephanie Rzaza Schiff, energy broker at Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. in New York 
said two of the top factors behind the rally on the Merc were strong technical
buying and reductions in the nation's stocks of crude oil, home heating oil and
gasoline. 

After the Merc closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute released its
weekly report on U.S. oil inventories. The API said that in the week ended
April 3 supplies of distillate, used primarily for home- heating oil and diesel
fuel, dropped to 93.4 million barrels from 97.8 million barrels the week
before. Gasoline stocks fell moderately to 219. 2 million barrels from
222million barrels the week before and crude inventories declined to 337.4
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million barrels from 342.6 million barrels in the prior week. 

The API figures are closely watched as a gauge of oil demand because the United
States is the largest oil-consuming nation. 

On the Merc, home-heating oil for May delivery jumped 0.81 cent to 56.26 cents
a gallon, and unleaded gasoline gained 0.39 cent to 62.71 cents a gallon. 

Schiff said the market also was boosted by rumors that ''a U.S. aircraft
carrier was moving toward Libya and the threat of an Iran-Iraq war.'' 

Libya, Iran and Iraq are all members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries. Any political unrest in those nations could lead to a disruption in
oil exports. 

In recent days tensions between Iran and Iraq have escalated as Iran accused
Iraq of supporting an Iranian rebel group within its border. 

On Sunday, Iranian warplanes blasted the positions of the rebel group, called
the Mojahedin Khalq Organization, in Iraqi territory. The Iraqi news agency
said Iraq's air defenses shot down an Iranian jet that raided a border region
inside Iraq and captured its two crewmen. 

The rebel group said Wednesday information from the captured crewman and
information from inside Iran suggested the attack by Iranian warplance may have
been planned weeks before it was launched, but then postponed. 

In Libya, demonstrations have been going on for several days in response to a
U.N. proposal to impose sanctions April 15 on the North African nation. The
embargo on air and weapons traffic is in response to Libya's refusal to
surrender two of its citizens accused of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 
which killed 270 people. 

The Arab League said Wednesday Libya has made another deal in order to resolve
the issue of the Libyan suspects and surrender them to a neutral government.
The League relayed the information from Libya after an eight-hour meeting with
Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, Egypt. 

Iraqi oil exports have been under a U.N. embargo since August 1990 when Baghdad
invaded Kuwait. 

The United Nations and Iraq have been involved in talks in recent weeks about a
resumption of limited amounts of Iraqi exports for humanitarian purposes to
help Baghdad rebuild its infrastructure after the devastation from the Persian
Gulf War. Iraq could begin exporting oil only if it accepts a U.N. proposal to
eliminate its weapons of mass destruction. 

On the U.S. Gulf Coast spot market, where oil is sold to the highest bidder,
West Texas Intermediate climbed 40 cents to $20.60 a barrel. 

Prices also rose on the European spot market, where the United Arab Emirates'
Dubai light - the key OPEC crude from the Middle East - gained 40 cents to
$17.00 a barrel. 

Britain's widely traded North Sea Brent crude jumped 40 cents to $19. 30 a
barrel on the spot market. On the International Petroleum Exchange in London,
Brent rose 35 cents to $19.18 a barrel. 

Marathon Petroleum Co., based in Findlay, Ohio, increased its buying price for
West Texas Intermediate by 25 cents to $19.25. Houston-based Conoco Inc.
increased its buying price for WTI by 25 cents to $19.50 a barrel. 



=END= 

    'IRAN' NEWS

  1. FIVE TONS OF OPIUM SEIZED IN IRANIAN PROVINCE OF SISTAN
  2. IRANIAN HARDWARE FIRM PARTICIPATES IN GERMAN COMPUTER EXPOSITION
  3. IRANIAN REPORTEDLY PLANS TO ALLOW MEAT IMPORTS AT FLOATING RATE
  4. SAUDI AIR CONDITIONER FIRM, AL-ESSA INDUSTRIES, PLANS TO SET UP PLANT IN
     IRAN
  5. IRAN'S PRIVATE SECTOR REPORTEDLY BUILT 71,000 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS LAST
     YEAR
  6. IRAN REPORTEDLY EXPORTED $1 BILLION WORTH OF PERSIAN CARPETS LAST YEAR
  7. IRAN'S ISLAMIC REPUBLIC POSTS CO. TO ISSUE STAMP SERIES FOR AZERBAIJAN
  8. IRANIAN SALES OF PERSIAN RUGS NETS $1 BILLION IN 1991
  9. RUSSIA SELLS IRAN THREE SUBMARINES, MOSCOW SOURCES SAY
 10. ENVIRONMENT EXPERTS SAY OIL POLLUTION IN THE GULF REGION WORSENING
 11. U.S. NAVY COMMANDER CONFIRMS BATTLE GROUP MONITORING OF IRAQI AIR FORCE
 12. IRANIAN REBELS SAY TEHRAN BEGAN PLANNING IRAQI AIR STRIKE WEEKS AGO
 13. IRAQI RADAR TRACKING ALLIED PLANES NEAR TURKISH BORDER, DEFENSE DEPT. SAYS
 14. WEDNESDAY'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
 15. OIL PRICES RISE ON WEDNESDAY'S WORLD MARKET

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or <P>revious?

         NewsGrid Headline News         
        Thursday, April 09 1992         
                01:04CDT                

Newsgroups: soc.culture.iranian