Iraq invades Iran as Gulf conflict escalates into war

Press, 24 September 1980, Page 1

Iraq invades Iran as Gulf conflict escalates into war

NZPA-Reuter Beirut Armoured columns of Iraqi troops with air support yesterday invaded Iran. Iraqi diplomats said the Bagdad Government intended to take control of the strategic Straits of Hormuz, a vital oil-supply route.

Iraq had earlier accused Iran of attempting to block the arrival of ships through the narrow Straits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Half of the nonCommunist world’s oil imports pass through the waterway.

In a report from Bagdad. the Gulf News Agency in Bahrain quoted a statement by the general command of Iraq’s armed • forces as saying that the invasion had been launched to force the Iranian Government to respect Iraqi sovereignty over its land and water. Teheran Radio had earlier reported new raids by Iranian planes into Iraq and said that Iraqi planes had attacked Iranian Navy boats in the Gulf. Quoting an armed forces .communique, it said that Iranian planes had shot down five Iraqi MiG fighters, bringing the total in the last few days to 17. The Iraqi port of Umm Qasr had been “severely bombed.” Bagdad Radio said that Iranian jets had attacked Iraqi airports at Bagdad, Basra, Mosul, Habbaniyan, Kut, and Nasiriyah. Twenty Iranian jets had been shot down.

Quoting a military statement, the radio said the planes had also bombed residential areas in Bagdad, Nineveh, Basra, and Nasiriyah. The worst casualties were 20 killed and 50 wounded at a fertiliser and chemical coma plex in Basra, Iraq’s second largest city. Iraqi jets had raided southern Iranian military bases at Dezful, Shakrok, and Ahvav with the loss of only one plane. On Monday, Iran said that it had destroyed 11 Iraqi fighters and four gunboats and Iraq said that it had shot down six Iranian jets.

Iraqi diplomats in Ankara said the Iraqi advance into Iran had stated at 3 a.m. (local time) and had penetrated 10km into Iranian territory. The forces intended to take control of the Iranian towns of Abadan and Khorramanshahr on the Shatt al Arab waterway, which divides Iran’s oil-producing province of Khuzestan and Iraq’s own oil fields. The Iraqi forces had no intention of attacking or destroying the oil refineries in the area. Teheran Radio said that all ships in the Shatt al Arab waterway should leave the area immediately because Iran’s half of the Gulf was now a war zone.

It also said that the Iranian authorities had ordered all staff at Teheran Airport, except' those working in the control tower, to stay away because the airport had been bombarded by Iraqi aircraft on Monday. But an hour later the radio said that all leave for technical and operational staff in civil aviation had been cancelled and that all staff should report to their posts without delay. While the world wondered what effect the fighting between the two

oil producers may have on oil supplies, <me of the Iranian communiques said that Iraqi gas-production facilities at Fad and oil installations at Basserieh had been destroyed. In London, insurance rates for air or sea shipments to or from Iran and Iraq, but not other Gulf countries, rose sharply, some by 400 per cent.

British officials said a British crchant ship had been fired on, with no casualties reported, and that other British vessels were believed to be trapped in the Iraqi port of Basra.

King Hussein of Jordan yesterday became the first Arab leader to take a stand on the conflict, coming out clearly on • Iraq’s side. Both the Jordanian and Iraqi news agencies carried the king’s state-, ment affirming Jordan’s “support for the struggle of the Iraqi people against the aggression of the Iranian enemy.” Israeli television said that Iraq had sent some military transport planes to Jordan to keep them out of range of Iranian attacks.

. Egyptian President Sadat urged the combatants to settle their problems peacefully. President Carter said the United States was not taking sides but would encourage Iran and Iraq through the United Nations and other means to end the conflict.

He expre- 1 the hope that . th? . fighting might help persuade Iran to _ r--lease the 52 American hostages held *here for more than 10 months. He said the equation could convince Iranian officials of the need for peace, international acceptance, and a strong economy. More reports Page 8