Squeeze still on ports

Press, 22 October 1980, Page 8

Squeeze still on ports

[NZPA-Reuter Beiruti Iraq said -yesterday its! forces were tightening their siege of Abadan and mopping up Iranian hold-outs in; the neighbouring port of! Khorramshahr. while. Iran! asserted • that its forces' ■blocked Iraqi attempts to ad-! !vance in both key cities on; the Shattal Arab estuary ; ',but admitted the detenders, (needed reinforcements. ■ There was no way to{ [check on the validity of rhe; I conflicting claims since; Western reporters were bar-j red from the battlefronts. But it appeared that the* Iraqis were maintaining | their pressure on Abadan’ and Khorramshahr. but • the* Iranians were still able to) keep the invading forces out' of Abadan itself. Teheran radio reported’ ■ continuing Iraqi shelling of { Abadan artillery duels 'yesterday afternoon on the A b a d a n-Ahwaz highway north of the city and the! Abadan-Mahshahr highway! to the. east, and long-range) shelling of the city from the Iraqi side of the Shalt all:

iArab, the boundary line' {waterway between the two) countries and Iraq’s water! I route to the Gbif. ■ > -'. ■ s I Iraq is fighting to get! {complete control of the es-i jtuary. ' Meanwhile. President Car-j {ter said in Ohio yesterday* {that if the 52 hostages held; ’by Jran -since November 4; were released,' “h would uh-, freeze ; thei!r ;(rfimian) assets.! which are several billions of’ ;dollars,’.l:.; would drop the; i embargo on trade with Iran; ;and,work toward a resump-. tron'''of normal' commerce! (With Iran in the future.” ■ -Mr Carter said it was.-to ithe United States’ advantage “to have a strong Iran;) It’s) advantage to-have a: ! united Iran.” T ' I ; The Speaker of Iran’s Paiiliament, Hashemi Rdfsanjahi.) ’said yesterday that the legis-i lature would decide in the; "next two or three days” on! conditions for release of the' hostages. but that be! {thought they would be the {same ones enunciated by |Ay atoll.ah Ruhollah i Khomeiny, Iran's ravolutionlary leader.

i; Khomeiny s conditions ijwere: return of the Shah’s i wealth, cancellation of Claims against Iran; release* df IraIniah assets; frozen in the [United States, and a guaran,te. of non-interference in •|lranian affairs. He dropped ’an oft-stated demand for an ’{apology for past ties with J the Shah's regime. ■< In Teheran yesterday, the ■‘lslamic Conference peacei maker. Habib Chatti. waited jfor an Iranian reply to his {proposal for leaders of Muslim countries to negotiate a {ceasefire in the Gulf war. Mr Chatti. the Tunisian) {secretary-general of the 40jnation conference, has put Ibis ideas, to Ayatollah {Khomeiny. President Abolihassan Bani-Sadr and Hashlemi Rafsanjani during a) I two-day stay in Teheran. ; His proposal, as reported: )by State radio, would call' !for leaders of Islamic; {nations to visit Bagdad and! Teheran to arrange a hah to! the fighting to be followed; by bilateral negotiations. But he admitted that Iran) had not changed its position!

s.that it would not negotiate! s while Iraqi troops remained’ ;lqn its soil. “ ’ , ■ Mr Chatti was due 5 more talks ye—with* ‘ Ayatollah MoMmma’d Be-’ ’ heshti, leader of the domi-t s {nant Islamic Republican! ’!Party, and with the Prime] 1 Minister (Mr Mohammad Alii Rajai) who is returning from’ ? the United Nations in Newl ■ York. i li— — ! J