* ISRAEL: Mossad row in Switzerland
* FEATURES: Oil routes: U.S. steps up search
* NEWS: Kharrazi meets Russian prime minister
* WOMEN: Simin Behbahani to be honored at bookfair
* ECONOMY: Tehran housing prices drop 400 percent
* FOREIGN EXCHANGE: Unchanged
* THE IRANIAN: Tapping the Caspian
* THE WEB: "Jaame'eh" online
* SPORTS: Under 21 (?) soccer team ready for Asian cup
* FILM: Mehdi Hojat alks about Iranian cinema
* SMILE: Please execute everyone!
* LETTERS: Qeymeh Nazri / Fire in my soul / Wondeful story
* LOST & FOUND: Afsaneh Nahavandi
* BOOKSTORE: Tribal Rugs
* EVENTS: Khuzestanis in LA / Political Culture / Farhad
* PHOTO OF THE DAY: Going for a ride / Wrestling photos
* MUSIC: Dariush: "Bacheh-haa-ye Iran" / "Daad az in Del"
* QUOTE UNQUOTE: "Hardcore fanatical students"

ISRAEL

* Mossad row in Switzerland, (BBC) - A suspected Israeli secret agent is being held by Swiss police, and four others are being sought in Geneva after a bungled attempt to bug an apartment. News of the arrest comes just a day after the head of Mossad, Israel's secret service, resigned. General Danny Yatom, stood down in the face of mounting criticism of the agency's activities. Federal Prosecutor Carla del Ponte denied rumours in the Israeli media that the target was an Iranian diplomatic representation ... full text

* Apology given to Swiss 'several days ago', (Jerusalem Post) - Israel's apology for the bungled bugging of a Bern apartment building was submitted to a senior Swiss official by Ambassador Yitzchak Mayer "several days ago," a government aide said yesterday. Switzerland's subsequent insistence on a public apology evidently stems from the fact that the incident was leaked. However, experts here contend that compliance with the Swiss demand would confirm that the suspect jailed in Bern actually is a Mossad agent. Federal Prosecutor Carla del Ponte denied an Israel Radio report that the Mossad was trying to eavesdrop on Iranian diplomats when five agents were caught by Bern police early on the morning of February 19... full text

* Iran judicial chief condemns Israel, Switzerland, (IRNA)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

(Back to top)

FEATURES

* Oil routes: US steps up search, (Financial Times) - Franco-Russian contract to extract gas from Iranian waters has lent added urgency to the campaign by the US to steer energy flows away from Iran, US officials said yesterday. They reaffirmed the Clinton administration's policy of isolating Iran, adding that the present crisis involving Iraq made it doubly important to avoid increasing dependence on energy flows through the Persian Gulf. In one of their most detailed policy statements on the energy-rich Caspian Sea, Commerce and Energy Department officials made clear they were in a race against time to ensure Turkey was the main conduit for oil and gas flows from the region... full text

* Iran and Saudis unite to halt dip in oil price, (Times) - ran and Saudi Arabia, which have had a confrontation across the Gulf for more than a decade, have come together to try to stop the further plunge of oil prices, now lower than at any other time since the 1973 Middle East war. In a significant thaw in the glacial relations between Riyadh and Tehran, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former President and now head of Iran's influential Expediency Council, has just ended talks with senior members of the Saudi royal family during a ten-day visit. "It gives us pleasure to say that there is co-ordination between the two countries and ministers and officials are doing their best to maintain the prices as they were decided by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec)," he told a press conference in Riyadh on Tuesday... full text

* Diplomacy: Rafsanjani leads Iranian bid to make new friends, (Financial Times) - Iran is using the unprecedented official visit of former president Hashemi Rafsanjani to Saudi Arabia to step up its diplomatic offensive to break out of 18 years of isolation and improve relations with both the west and Islamic countries in the region... full text

* Row over Karrubi's letter to judiciary chief Mohammad Yazdi, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

(Back to top)

NEWS

* Kharrazi meets Russian prime minister, (IRNA) ... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* Egyptian economic delegation to travel to Iran, (IRNA) ... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* 3,500 drug dealers in Iranian jails, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

(Back to top)

WOMEN

Simin Behbahani to be honored at bookfair

Next week for the first time a bookfair for women publishers will open in Tehran. In addition to this exhibition, there will be some panels and a special ceremony to honor Simin Behbahani, the contemporary poetry. They have done a lot of publicity for it and the fair will be opened by the Minister of Islamic Culture and Guidance, Ataollah Mohajerani. Masomeh Shambayati <masomeh@neda.net>

(Back to top)

ECONOMY

* Tehran housing prices drop 400 percent, but rise in 20 other cities, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* TV production reaches 200,000 units per yeaf, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* Be serious about paper recycling!, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* A million tourists to visit Iran between March 98-99, (IRNA) ... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

(Back to top)

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Unchanged

* To send money to Iran, the rate is 495-500 tomans per dollar, depending on how much you wish to send.

* To send money out of Iran, the rate is 504 tomans per dollar.

Source: Sehaty Foreign Exchange, call in U.S.: 602-595-0777 or 500-288-8881. Preferntial rates for readers of The Iranian Times. Mention this code: BAJ 07

(Back to top)

THE IRANIAN

Tapping the Caspian
Iran & Central Asia: The geopolitics of oil and gas

By Hashem Farhang

Because of a very strong tradition of capitalism and free enterprise, plus the pipeline construction experience of the past two decades, all activities related to the pipeline construction are already in place in Iran... go to feature

(Back to top)

THE WEB

"Jaame'eh" online: Here are sample articles from "Jaame'eh", the new "liberal" newspaper in Iran. These are from a temporary site. Neda Rayaneh -- the people who put Hamshahri online -- have promised to bring "Jaame'eh" online on a regular basis soon. Articles are in Persian:

* Journalist's trial held behind closed doors
* Five Majlis by-election candidates rejected by Council of Guardians
* Communists attack Soroush lecture in Germany

(Back to index)

SPORTS

* Under 21 (?) national soccer team grouped with Yemen, UAE and Tajikistan for Asian cup, (Hamshahri)...full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* Hamshahri Sports section, Thursday... index in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

"Dream Team" IRAN -- World Cup tickets now available!

Sportestan Publishing (USA)
ish@sportestan.com
Tel: 650-473-9792

(Back to top)

FILM

* Mehdi Hojat, head of Iranian Cultural Heritage Foundation talks about Iranian cinema, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* "Taste of Cherry" in Victoria: WED & THURS, MARCH 4 & 5 (7:15 & 9:10) Cinecenta, UVic. With discounts for the club & community members. UVic Persian Club : <wr855@victoria.tc.ca> : 250-472-8699

* Iranian film festival organized by Stanford University's Persian Students Association will run through mid-March... click here for details

(Back to top)

SMILE :-)

* Please execute everyone!

From Iran's new "liberal" newspaper, "Jaame'eh" (in Persian) ... Click here

Got something to make us smile?
Send it to Times@iranian.com

(Back to top)

LETTERS

* Memories of Qeymeh Nazri

Thank you for the images from Darbandsar. We had a home there and I spent quit a bit of time on the weekends there. The images, especially the kids with Qeymeh Nazri brought back font memories. Thank you for working so hard on Iranian.com. Your unselfish dedication is written all over the site. My admiration increases with every visit. Siamak Farah <sia@infostreet.com>

* Fire in my soul

Thank you so much, for giving the chance to listen to such a sensitive and deep-hearted artistic work [Shahram Nazeri's "She'r o Erfan"]! I'm from Iraqi Kurdistan, and living in Finland. Although winter time is very long and dark here, such warm and intimate music, poem and voice immediatly set the fire in my soul, not to care about any ice and freezing wind! Please don't stop or hesitate in delivering artistic pieces like these on the internet. utapc <utapc@uta.fi>

* Wondeful story

This was a wondeful story ["Around a world of broken promises"] . I can understand how the writer feels. I hope we will see equality among all human races one day. Thank you for sharing your expreince with us. Elena & Khosrow <eshkour@interlog.com>

(Back to top)

LOST & FOUND

Afsaneh Nahavandi

Searching for Afsaneh Nahavandi. I still love her after 30 years. I lost her address and it has been impossible to find it again. Please help a poor, lost cowboy. Send email to Pourbagher pourbagher@email.msn.com

(Back to top)

BOOKSTORE

Tribal Rugs : An Introduction to the Weaving of the Tribes of Iran
Jenny Housego / Paperback / Published 1997

Books available through Amazon.com, the world's largest online bookstore. THE IRANIAN is an associate of Amazon.com. Click on the links for more information.

THE IRANIAN Bookstore

(Back to top)

EVENTS

* Khuzestani Noruz in LA: This year's Khuzestani Noruz party will be on March 14 at the LAX Marriott Hotel. For more information contact Hassan Alesafar <NAKHLAK@aol.com>

* State of Political Culture in Iran Today: A lecture by Dr. Afshin Matin (lecturer at UCLA's History Dept.) Title: "The State of Political Culture in Iran Today". Place and time: Friday. Feb 27th, 7:30 pm, Valley Life Science Build, UC Berkeley.

* Iranian American Scholarship Fundraising Gala: The Iranian Federated Women's Club invites you to attend the 1998 Iranian American Scholarship Fundraising Gala, on Saturday February 28th, 1998 at the Quinlan Community Center (10185 North Stelling Road, Cupertino, CA), for a reception at 6:30 and Dinner, Music, and a Fashion Show at 7:00 p.m. with Master of Ceremonies: Dr. Anthony Shay.

Society of Iranian Professionals is proud to be one of the Host Committee Members, along with various State Assembly men and women, a few Supervisors of Santa Clara County, Payvand Cultural School, Persian Center, a few U.S. Senators, President of De Anza College, Cyrus Travel, and Pine Press.

Proceeds of this program will benefit an Iranian-American Scholarship Educational Fund to be utilized at De Anza or Stanford University. We invite you to join us in sponsoring this great event. SIP would like to sponsor a table and invites you to contact us at officers@sip-ca.org if you would like to participate in this worthwhile cause. Donation: $100 per person. For more information: please call (408) 381-4268 or (408) 781-5675.

* Farhad's last concert: Farhad, the legendary singer, is currently in the U.S. and will perform his last U.S. concert on Sunday, March 8, 1998 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles. Farhad will return to Iran after this concert. This is the last chance his fans will have tio see him in their lifetime. For information and reservation those interested can contact: 310-704-5700.

* Iranian film festival organized by Stanford University's Persian Students Association will run through mid-March... click here for details

(Back to top)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

* Going for a ride

Two photos of horse carriages in Isfahan's "Maydoon-e Naqsh-e Jahaan" ...full image

* Reuters Iran/USA-wrestling photos

- Fan Weeps As Iranian Beats US Wrestler
- US Wrestler Jackson Bows To Iranian Fans

Got any interesting photos?
Send it to Times@iranian.com

(Back to top)

MUSIC

Dariush: "Bacheh-haa-ye Iran" (Poem by Hadi Khorsandi)

& "Daad az in Del" (RealAudio)

Greatest pop CDs ON SALE!

(Back to top)

QUOTE UNQUOTE

"Hardcore fanatical students"

There are still significant numbers of Iranian students attending U.S. universities and technical institutions, in 1997, 419 student visas were issued to new and returning Iranian students. A significant number of these individuals are hardcore members of the pro-Iranian student organization known as the Anjoman Islamie, which is comprised almost exclusively of fanatical, anti-American, Iranian Shi'ite Muslims. The Iranian government relies heavily on these students studying in the United States for low level intelligence and technical expertise. However, the Anjoman Islamie also provides a significant resource base which allows the government of Iran to maintain the capability to mount operations against the United States, if it so decided.

Dale L. Watson
Section Chief, FBI International Terrorism Operations
Statement to U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology & Government
February 24, 1998

(Back to top)

---

---

Web Site Design by Multimedia Internet Services, Inc.

Internet server by Global Publishing Group.