Iran exults at U.S. sanctions, warns Europe of oil cut-off

Press, 10 April 1980, Page 8

Iran exults at U.S. sanctions, warns Europe of oil cut-off

NZPA-Reuter Teheran Iran has reacted defiantly to new American sanctions over the holding of the Teheran Embassy hostages 2nd warned America’s allies that they will get no Iranian oil if they join Washington’s economic embargo. ’’’he revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeiny, congratulated Iranians on the break in diplomatic relations announced by President Carter.on Monday night and described the move as “the dawn of victory for Iran.”

President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, warning his countrymen in a televised speech to expect further American reprisals, urged European countries not to go along with the embargo on United States trade with Iran announced by Mr Carter. “Our struggle against the United States is the struggle of Europeans too, and if they lose this chance, they will be trapped in the superPower competition,” . the President said. The Oil Minister (Dr Ali Akbar Moinfar) said earlier that countries which joined President Carter’s economic sanctions against Iran would have their oil supplies cut off..

Mr Bani-Sadr told the State radio in an interview yesterday that only internal divisions and industrial troubles could defeat Iran “because we are in a stage of war . . . and if we want to survive, we must work instead of sitting around and having discussions.” The ruling Revolutionary Council, which met in crisis session for most of Tuesday, announced a crack-down on political activism and industrial disruption to meet what it called an emergency.

The council said that people spreading discord or disrupting production would be treated as counter-revolu-; tionaries. The Interior Ministry announced that all demonstrations at Teheran University were banned indefinitely.

Economic experts have

said sanctions would have a severe effect only if American allies joined the American move. They noted that trade between Teheran and Washington had been insignificant since militant students occupied the United States Embassy last November.

President Bani-Sadr said in the radio interview that Ayatollah Khomeiny had urged the Government to ap-j point an observer at the occupied mission to ensure) that ail the hostages’! humanitarian needs were met.

With prospects for an! early solution to the United States-Iranian crisis reced-j ing, the Foreign Minister! (Mr Sadeq Qotbzadeh) will give a press conference today in which he is expected to disclose more details of last week’s abortive negotiations between Teheran and Washington aimed at transferring the hostages to Government control.

Mr Qotbzadeh and President Bani-Sadr yesterday formally thanked two Parisbased lawyers, Christian Bourguet and Hector Villalon, who acted as intermediaries between the two countries and tried until the last minute to bring about the hostages’ transfer. The political group that did most to block the move, the Islamic Republican Party, has called for two days of national rejoicing, starting today, to mark the severance of diplomatic ties with the United States.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issued a statement saying they would fast two days a week until further notice “to show our revolutionary and Islamic will for cutting off every dependent link with Western and Eastern imperialism,” the official Pars news agency reported. Obeying President Carter’s order to .be out of the country by midnight (5 p.m. yesterday N.Z. time), nearly all of Iran's diplomats have left Washington, insisting to the end that they were being wronged more than the hos-

tages captive in Teneran. After a 45-minute delay at Washington’s Dulles Airport, the diplomats left aboard a regularly scheduled British Airways jet. The Iranian Charge d’Affairs (Mr Ali Agah) told reporters, “I was like a hostage in our embassy for 156 days. I’m glad I’m going home.”

The Iranians left at least| one of their number behind) with the permission of the Carter Administration to arrange for turning over custody of the embassy and other property to an as yet unnamed third country which will be Iran’s protecting power during the break in diplomatic relations. State Department officials said about six diplomats had I requested permission to stay in the United States. Most cited humanitarian reasons such as medical treatment, but at least one asked for political asylum. All of the requests were rejected. Until they left the diplomats were under round-the-clock surveillance by the Federal Bureau of In-' vestigation. The surveillance was aimed at avoiding a repetition of the episode last December when 108 Iranian diplomats disappeared after Mr Carter told Iran to reduce its ranks in the United States.

Although the White House is hinting' anew that force still might be used to break the stalemate with Iran, Pentagon officials fear any such move could lead to injury or death for the hostages. The move most frequently mentioned in speculation about possible American military action against Iran has been a Gulf naval blockade.

Pentagon officials feel that another possible result of an American military move could be a Soviet countermove.

Although Iranian leaders have condemned both the United States and the Soviet Union, some American analysts believe the Iranians, if threatened, might turn to I Moscow for help.