Part 90 – SEPTEMBER 30, 1988
''The crimes of your Ministry of Intelligence and those committed in your prisons are far worse than those of the Shah and Savak, and I speak of detailed knowledge.'' - Ayatollah Montazeri, Letter to Ayatollah Khomeini - Summer, 1988
US strikes deal with Tehran
In early September 1988, Mohammad Javad Larijani, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, was visiting Paris. From there, he was called unexpectedly to Geneva for talks with American negotiators.
Besides Mohammad Javad Larijani, the other Iranian negotiators are believed to be Mahmoud Jamali, Nasrollah Kazemi Kamyab and Abolghasem Mesbahi. All of them are quite well known senior officials and worked for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, except Mesbahi who was representing Hashemi Rafsanjani.
On Sept. 30, 1988, The Nation, an Israeli daily, reports that U.S. and Iranian negotiators have "hammered out an agreement."
According to the Israeli daily, progress was made when the US negotiators gave up on Col. William R. Higgins. The US accepted the Iranian line that he was either dead or no longer among the hostages controlled by Tehran.
On Feb. 17, 1988, Higgins was driving on a coastal highway between Tyre and Naquora in southern Lebanon. Iranian-backed terrorists pulled him from his jeep. About a year later, his kidnappers released a videotape of a Higgins dangling from a rope. Pentagon officials concluded Higgins probably died earlier.
The Talb-Chabaan-Mograbi PPSF Cell
On Sept. 5, 1988, Jehab Chabaan, Ziad Chabaan and Samir Ourfali entered Germany on a flight from Damascus. Jehab and Ziad are brothers of Imad Chabaan while Samir is a cousin.
Imad Chabaan, who changed his name to Martin Imandi a few years earlier, resides in Uppsala, Sweden. Martin Imandi is a close associate of Abu Talb.
Imandi met the three men at Munich airport and attempted to drive them illegally to Sweden. Danish police arrested them at the border city of Rodbyhavn on a charge of carrying false documentation. All were released two days later.
Dalkamamoni Trip to Cyprus
On Sept. 12, Haffez Kassem Dalkamoni goes to Cyprus where the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) maintains a bank account. Dalkamoni has full control over the account. Bank records show that its state has fluctuated from US$1 million to several millions. Dalkamoni has been in Cyprus earlier in the year in February and in May. He remains on the Island until the 14th.
Dalkamoni is (besides Ahmed Jibril himself) one of two other members of the PFLP-GC known to have participated with Iranian officials in the discussions regarding the revenge for the USS Vincennes "incident." The other is Major Tunayb, who was the head of the organization's intelligence branch.
Arafat ongoing success
On Sept. 14, 1988, Yasser Arafat, the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, addressed members of the European Parliament.
In a historical moment, Arafat said he accepted UN Resolutions 242 and 338. The resolutions call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied territories and the recognition by Arab states of Israel's right to exist.
The PFLP-GC of Ahmed Jibril, the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) and the Abu Nidal Organization are absolutely opposed to a peaceful solution of the conflict and adamantly reject Israel's right to exist. Western intelligence agencies expect these groups to conduct one or several spectacular acts of terrorism to put an end to Arafat's ongoing diplomatic success.
Velayati and the Interror Conference
During the month of September, Velayati held a major conference in Tehran in order to discuss plans to escalate the struggle against Israel.
Beside Ahmed Jibril, Abu Musa and various leaders of Hizbullah and Lebanese Sunni militia Tawhid attended.
Jibril called for the establishment of a formal Palestinian – Iranian alliance. Jibril concept of an Islamic Organization for the Libearation of Palestine will soon materialize. The organization aims first of all at eliminating and replacing Arafat PLO.
CIA involved in Nicaragua
On Sept. 21, Senator Jim Wright, a Texas Democrat, told reporters that the CIA had deliberately done things to provoke an overreaction on the part of the Government in Nicaragua.
It is the first time that a Government official has publicly acknowledged the CIA activity in Nicaragua. But Wright gave no details regarding the timing of this operation.
What was the origin of the funds used to continue the dealings with Tehran and the Contras in these years? Did the US run illegal drug operations, by opposition to controlled deliveries, to raise the money needed? And if so, was Monzer al-Kasaar involved in this scheme? (See Confession of an Iranian Terror Czar)
Released on April 13, 1989, Senator John Kerry’s Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report on Contra drug links concluded that “senior US policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras’ funding problems.”
Power Struggle in Tehran
On Sept. 26, a commando led by Mir Lohi attempted to assassinate Rafsanjani as he was leaving the parliament. The assassination attempt, probably organized by Mohtashami Pur himself (perhaps with the help of Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi) is widely perceived as a way to prevent a rapprochement with Washington.
Nervous in Damascus
During the last week of the month, Richard W. Murphy, a senior United States envoy, completed five days of discussions with Syria over a candidate for Lebanon's presidency.
''The American aim is to get Syria to cooperate in the peace process,'' a West European diplomat said. ''This is a very difficult and slow project.''
The Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation has strengthened the leadership of Arafat over rebels sponsored by Damascus. Consequently, Syria-based leaders of the most radical wings of the P.L.O. have met with Arafat to seek agreement on a common response to Jordan's decision on July 31 to sever its ties with the occupied West Bank. That does not sit too well with Assad's profound hostility toward Arafat.
As regard to the predictability of Arafat opponents’ actions, I will merely quote investigative journalist David Yallup who wrote in his book – The hunt for the Jackal – the following: "A negotiated settlement to the issue of Palestinian independence that excluded Syrian involvement was not on Assad agenda. It has never been. It will never be."
Mossad Warns the BKA regarding the PFLP-GC
A BKA Intelligence summary drafted this month states that the PFLP-GC appears to be gearing up for a major operation. The report seems to be based on an analysis by MOSSAD of Palestinian documents seized by Israeli Security Force during a raid on a PFLP-GC base in Southern Lebanon.
NOTES AND REFERENCES
SYRIAN ISOLATION AMONG ARABS SEEN -
]http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE3D6123AF935A1575AC0A96E948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print">[/url], September 26, 1988
