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Iran launches second stage of war games

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, February 28, 2000

NICOSIA -- Iran has launched the second stage of its massive military exercises in the Gulf.

Air, naval and ground forces joined the Revolutionary Guard in the Persian Gulf on Saturday for the second stage of Wahdat 79. Officials said the goal of the 10-day military exercise is to test the deployment of Iran's naval presence in the Gulf.

Iran has been building its naval presence in the Gulf to face U.S. warships.

The official Islamic Republic News Agency said that during the exercise, commandos from the army and Revolutionary Guards attacked a beachhead of a "hypothetical enemy." The exercise included an Iranian-manufactured landing craft meant to rapidly deploy armored vehicles in the mock invasion.

Iranian commanders again called on Teheran's Arab neighbors in the Gulf to cooperate in defense of the region and reject the U.S. presence. So far, the Arab states have given Teheran the cold shoulder.

"The Islamic republic of Iran, with the help of neighboring and friendly countries, is able to implement comprehensive defense projects to safeguard the region's interests," Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian said.

Officials said the exercise, which began on Feb. 24, will consist of five stages and take place over an area of 64,000 square kilometers.

In Teheran, reformers officially gained control of Iran's parliament. Final election results showed allies of President Mohammed Khatami won 170 out of 290 seats. Conservative allies of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei won 45 seats and independents 10. Another 65 seats would be decided in run-offs in April.

In Teheran, a list led by Mohamad Reza Khatami, younger brother of the president, won 29 of the 30 seats. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, aligned with Khamenei, won the last seat and just surpassed the 25 percent minimum.

Despite the defeat of Khamenei supporters, the leader still controls the intelligence services, military, police, mass media and a panel that must approve all legislation.

A key issue of the new parliament will be Iranian relations with the United States. Rafsanjani has opposed an near-term improvement in ties.

"On the one hand they express willingness to have relations with Iran, and on the other they pass laws which seek to punish countries helping Iran with its weapons program,'' he said. "The United States has to accept that it has made mistakes in the past with regard to Iran and the United States must return to us what is rightfully ours and prove their good will if they want to have a dialogue with Teheran."

Rafsanjani also expressed anger over a U.S. Senate vote that aims to punish Russia or other countries deemed to be helping Iran to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

"Some experts believe that certain elements inside and outside the country are waiting for the lion of democracy to gulp down the Islamic system," the Iran Daily, a newspaper aligned with Khamenei, said on Sunday. "But is it really so? Such lines of thinking stem from the country's idiosyncratic sociopolitical characteristics, namely excitements and imprudence. These two factors are largely responsible for our political backwardness throughout history."

Monday, February 28, 2000


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