Mystery witness to talk of Iran
A man who says he was an Iranian intelligence agent is scheduled to testify at a terror trial in Hamburg. He claims he warned the CIA about the 9/11 attacks, but some say he can't be trusted.
By John Crewdson
Tribune senior correspondent
January 30, 2004
BERLIN -- The typed, one-page letter, in broken English, is addressed to the "Prezident of the United States of America Mr. J Bush."
In it the writer, who uses the name Hamid Reza Zakeri and claims to be a former Iranian intelligence agent, tells the president that he warned the CIA less than two months before Sept. 11, 2001, that the Iranian government knew about a major terrorist action against the United States.
"But they did not believe me and did not operate," the letter says.
Zakeri, who will not divulge his real name, claims he faxed the letter to the White House in April 2002 but never got a reply. Now he is causing headaches for the CIA and other Western intelligence services, at least one of which says he cannot be trusted; for German prosecutors, who say he can, and for a court in Hamburg that is trying to decide the fate of a Moroccan charged with aiding the Sept. 11 hijackers.
The prospect of Zakeri's testimony before the Hamburg court provoked an angry reaction from the Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, who earlier this week dismissed Zakeri as "not honest" and his information as "fabricated."
Iranian diplomats here go further, asserting that their intelligence services have never had a relationship with Zakeri and pointing to what they say are subtle flaws in one of the documents that Zakeri says proves his service with the Iranian intelligence agency MOIS.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0401300181jan30,1,7464340,print.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hedIran lifts ban on candidates
January 30, 2004 - (SA)
Teheran - Iran's interior ministry said on Friday that 980 of the more than 3 500 candidates barred from next month's parliamentary elections have had their bans lifted, Kar news service reported.
The Guardian Council had until Friday to monitor the candidates. The hardline council functions as an upper house of parliament and includes conservative clerics and jurists.
Known reformists, including 83 members of the current parliament, were not on the list of approved candidates by Thursday, prompting reformist MPs to continue their protests.
There has been no reaction yet to Interior Minister Mussavi Lari's demand to postpone the February 20 elections.
In a letter to Guardian Council head Ahmad Jannati on Thursday, the minister said that Iran's 27 governors did not deem the political, legal and security conditions suitable for holding elections.
While President Mohammad Khatami insists on respecting the laws and holding the elections as scheduled, reformist MPs, including his brother Mohammad-Reza Khatami, have warned of mass resignations.
Observers said the current situation was the most serious crisis as the Islamic republic approached its 25th anniversary.
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,6119,2-10-1462_1476617,00.html