Eritrea - Three Iranian nationals were aboard a Sudan Airways plane hijacked to Asmara and later detained by Eritrean authorities, IRNA said.
The three were held back by the Eritrean authorities for lack of proper identification, but were later informed of their identity through diplomatic channels. Sudan said the three Iranians were working on the southern gas fields in Sudan.
Meanwhile Iran's foreign office spokesman Mahmoud Mohammadi demanded the speedy return of these Iranians to the Islamic Republic of Iran and said "..any delay in the their release is a breach of international laws."

24th March, 1996

UK - A $12 million design contract has been awarded to the UK firm John Brown Engineering for work on South Pars gas field development project, launched to meet Iran's growing demand for gas.
Iran has the second largest gas reserves in the world but development has lagged behind in its oil and petrochemical sectors which earn Iran billions of dollars in export revenue.

20th March, 1996

Italy - The EU President, Susanna Agnelli said planned visits to Iran and other capitals of the region by an EU "troika" of officials from Italy, Spain and Ireland would make condemnation of terrorism the central issue.
"Critical dialogue certainly means keeping open the channels of communication but without yielding and not at any price" Agnelli told the European Parliament's foreign affairs commission.

19th March, 1996

Tehran - Thousands of young Iranians defied the government warnings and celeberated the Iranian fireworks night in style. Police were out in force but the youths lit up fireworks and jumped over fires to celeberate this ancient festival. Since the 1979 revolution the authorities have tried with little success to curb what they see as a pagan pre-islamic tradition.

Tehran - Deputy head of customs Mohammed Reza Sadeq, quoted by the daily Keyhan, said Iran's non-oil exports stood at $2.9 billion in the 11-month period before February 19, showing a 25% drop compared to a year ago.
Although Iran is the world's third largest oil exporter, its economy suffers an inflation rate of more than 100% and a large foreign debt.

18th March, 1996

16th March, 1996

13th March, 1996

• Egypt Peace Summit - "Never had so many come so far to do so little" remarked an American correspondent
  paraphrasing Churchill while most officials only praised the symbolism of the summit.
  Only John Major matched Israel in singling out Iran by name as one of the "pariah" states promoting Islamic
  suicide bombers. Mr Major's comments came after criticism of Britain by Israel for Hamas fund raising being
  funnelled through organisations in London.
  Earlier Mr. Peres said in his rousing call to action that a name, address and bank account for terrorists now existed
  adding that Tehran had now become the capital of terror.
  European Union members who have trade links with Iran were said to be responsible for the failure of the communique
  to single out Iran by name.

• Ankara - Tansu Ciller demanded Iran to prove it had not provided any training for an Islamist hitman
  involved in attacks in Turkey or face Ankara's wrath as a "terrorist" collaborator.
  She added "If our neighbours are not working with us but with terrorists, then we will do what ever is necessary."
  Newspapers named an official from Iran's consulate in Istanbul as directly involved in organising attacks in Turkey.

12th March, 1996

• Unrest in Bonab - Six hundred revolutionary guards have clashed with 10,000 protesters at the
  North Western town of Bonab after crowds accused the authorities of cheating in the elections. It is unclear
  exactly how many people were killed or injured but up to 27 killed and 80 wounded are reported.
  Shops in the bazaar opened on Tuesday after a two-day protest strike by the shopkeepers.
  The events were reported to Reuters by a journalist who requested anonymity.

• Bonn - German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel urged Iran to specifically condemn HAMAS and
  not terrorism in general. "Rafsanjani's statements are not sufficient,.." He told reporters. The EU said it
  would have to reconsider its policy of "critical dialogue" with Iran if Tehran did not respond.
  

11th March, 1996

• Anatolian News Agency- The Istanbul police chief, Orhan Tasanlar, is quoted as saying that Irfan Cagirici,
  a Turk detained last week for the murder of a journalist six years ago, had visited Iran for instructions.
  "He also took militants he had recruited on these trips for military and political training." The agency said.
  Cagirici and his group were used by the Iranian government to kidnap and murder Iranian dissidents.
  Meanwhile the European Union is still searching for evidence of Iranian involvement in terrorism !

10th March, 1996

• Early projected results are showing Pro-Rafsanjani candidates to have won the majority of the seats.
  A spokesman for the pro-Rafsanjani faction said "Perhaps 75 percent of all winners are our candidates."

• Times Editorial - World leaders are to meet for a brief emergency summit in Sinai on Wednesday to discuss anti-terrorist measures.
  The Americans will demand support for their campaign to isolate Iran and topple the Government; the
  Europeans, defensively, will insist that their "critical dialogue" at present is mostly criticism!

08th March, 1996

• Elections
  In a desperate attempt to bolster the number of voters the IRI has allowed servicemen, hospital patients
  and even prisoners to vote without birth certificates!.
  Many have also feared retributions from the Government by having their ration books or
  passports denied if they could not show evidence of voting.
  An independent Paris based organisation "Reporters without Borders" - RsF - has established
  that the Iranian authorities put constant pressure on the press. The daily Salaam was suspended
  for 48 hours last Wednesday for publishing " false information".
  Parties which boycotted the elections had no media coverage at all.
  
  

• The Americans are bringing pressure on their European allies to change their policy on Iran, for supporting
  terrorist groups in the Middle East, but lured by the promises of lucrative contracts in Iran, the Europeans are
  demanding the US and Israel to provide evidence of Iran's involvements with the terrorist groups!.
  
  France, the only EU country to have taken strong action against Iran by calling off a planned visit by Iran's
  deputy Foreign Minister, caused concern to the Italian president of the EU, Susanna Agnelli, for taking unilateral
  action.
  
  Germany's Foreign Minister, Klaus Kinkel, however still plans a visit to Tehran later this year.
  
  Some European diplomats, However, are questioning the wisdom of continuing their present policy with Iran
  as there is little progress on the issue of the death edict against British author Salman Rushdie.

07th March, 1996

• The Times - Israel has threatened to take punitive military action both inside the Palestinian
  self-rule areas and inside the states that harbour and foster Hamas.
  This was backed by a diplomatic initiative launched by Warren Christopher, the US Secretary of State,
  to isolate Iran, which is seen as one of the main international backers of Islamic terror.
  " We think Iran is deeply involved in this at various levels." Mr Christopher said.
  

• The authorities in Iran have been quick to withdraw their earlier comments calling the
  recent bombings in Israel a "divine retribution" that heralded the beginning of the end
  for Israel.
  

  The international condemnation, of the broadcast by IRNA, included strong reactions by
  United States, Israel and several European countries. France summoned the Iranian ambassador
  and said further diplomatic measures would be announced later. The French National Assembly
  was also told, by Alan Juppe, that Iran's statements were "encouraging terrorists".
  

  Ayatollah Khamenei said on Wednesday that the media reports should not have been interpreted
  as the official stance of the Iranian government and that Iran itself was a victim of terrorist plots by
  the United States and Israel.

• There are reports that two Sunni Moslem Iranian clerics, have been shot dead in Pakistan. So far the police have declined to confirm or deny the killings. The two clerics are named as Maulavi Mollazadeh and Abdolnaser Jamshidzadeh.