Naval blockade hint as United States breaks with Iran

Press, 9 April 1980, Page 1

Naval blockade hint as United States breaks with Iran

NZPA-Reuter

Washington

President Carter has broken off diplomatic ties with Iran and hinted at military action after the collapse of the latest negotiations to free the United States embassy hostages in Teheran.

Mr Carter ordered sweeping sanctions against Iran, and said “other action might be necessary.” Officials said .later that that might include such moves as a naval blockade. Mr Carter ordered the expulsion of all Iranian diplomats by 5 p.m. today (midnight in Washington), banned United States exports to Iran, banned Iranians entering the United States, and threatened to distribute billions of dollars of seized Iranian assets to the hostages’ families.

A naval blockade could disrupt other countries’ oil supplies from Iran, and an American official said Washington hoped other countries would see it was in their interests to cooperate rather than force it'to take unilateral action. Co-operation from the United States allies would be important in the effectiveness of . the sanctions if Iran was not simply to switch to other customers and suppliers. ■ Secret Service agents im« mediately went to Iran’s Embassy in Washington and its consulates in San Francisco, Los New York and Texas, to prevent Americans from entering and the Iranians from, conducting diplomatic business. Federal Bureau of In-* vestigation agents put the 35 diplomats, and other Iranian officials under surveillance, ready to put aboard a plane any who violated a Presidential order restricting them to their missions, or a 3.2 km radius of their homes until they left, a White House official said.

' The United States measures came only hours

after the revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeiny, and Iran’s ruling Revolutionary Council killed delicate negotiations to transfer the 50 hostages from the control of the militant students who have held them since November 4 to the Government. President Abolhassan. Bani-Sadr had pressed for the transfer, but on Monday Ayatollah Khomeiny said “no,” and within hours the council followed suit.

Mr Carter said the decision “lays bare the full responsibility of the Ayatollah Khomeiny and the Revolutionary Council for the contihued illegal and outrageous holding of .the innocent hostages.”

“The Iranian Government itself can no longer escape < responsibility by hiding behind the militants at the embassy.”

Mr Carter’s sanctions included an inventory of about $8 billion of Iranian assets frozen on November 24.

The hostages, their families, corporations, and others with claims against Iran will be paid from the assets once legislation has been approved by Congress.

The Iranian Foreign Minister (Mr Sadeq Qotbzadeh) who worked until the last minute to try to achieve the hostage transfer, said despondently that he had “no comment whatsoever’’ on the sanctions.

The sanctions also spelled defeat for an ad-hoc group of five intermediaries who tried desperately over the last days to

achieve a breakthrough on .the transfer. In Teheran, the Revolutionary Council met in a special session to discuss its response to sanctions announced by President Carter.

Economic experts in Teheran said Mr Carter’s ban on United States exports to Iran would have little effect as trade had virtually ceased after the hostages were first taken.

It would take similar sanctions by Washington’s allies to cause any serious damage to Iran’s economy, they said. Trade has slumped since Iran’s revolution in February, 1979, and the seizing of the hostages. The embargo seems designed mainly for symbolic effect.

The United States exported SUSI.B million worth of goods to Iran in February and imported SUS 36.2 million worth from Iran.

In Washington, the Iranian Charge d’Affaires (Mr Ali Agah) accepted expulsion orders for the 35 Iranian diplomats in the United States, although he had earlier stormed out of the State Department after an angry exchange with an American official. Mr Agah, who had been summoned to receive the orders, said that if the United States wanted to expel the Iranians it would have to deliver the orders to his embassy. “We sent them over,” a department ’ spokesman said. “He accepted them with a simple ‘thank you’.” Mr Agah went to the department just before President Carter announced he was breaking

diplomatic relations with Iran.

American officials said Mr Agah and an embassy counsellor (Mr Mohammed Levassani) protested against the'action, saying that the hostages had, been under the Iranian Government’s protection.

The officials said Mr Agah objected when Mr Henry Precht, the director of the department’s Iran desk, replied: “Bullshit.” He left the department, saying that Iranians had won their dignity in the revolution a year ago and he would not lose it in the halls of the State Department.

The Iranian embassy issued a statement saying that Mr Precht had no right to curse or demean the Iranian people. “Mr Agah strongly protested against this behaviour and language,” it said.

Ayatollah Khomeiny yesterday greeted with derision President Carter’s decision to break off American diplomatic relations with Iran.

Iranians had every reason to “jump with joy,” he said.

“If Carter has done one thing in his life favourable to oppressed people, it is certainly announcing the break of diplomatic relations with a people who are fighting to free themselves from exploiters.” He said he welcomed the break - off, “because it proves that American imperialism is without hope. The Iranian people are right to jump with joy at the announcement of such news.”