IRAN'S PREMIER APPARENTLY RULES OUT AID ON HOSTAGES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605630001-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: November 6, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/04/27: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605630001-4
W 1Gl.FAP RED LOS ANGELES TIMES
/ ON PAGE 6 November 1986 FILE UNIV
Iran's Premier Apparent'y
Rules Out Aid on Hostages
By M ICHAEI: R OSS: Times-st`aff'-wniter
NICOSIA, Cyprus-Iranian But Moussavi, according to Teh- He said the speculation touched
Prime Minister Hussein Moussavi ran radio, said that any deal with off by Jacobsen's release has
d
W
d
e
- as
aon y appeared w rule out the United States is out of the
any chance that Iran might help question, Likening relations be-
free the remaining American hos- tween Washington and Tehran to
cages m Lebanon, saying there is
"no possibility whatsoever" of ne-
gotiations between Iran and the
United States.
Moussavi's remarks, reported by
Tehran radio and monitored here,
contradicted the remarks of anoth-
er Iranian official, who only Tues-
day had offered to intercede in the
hostage crisis if the United States
would release weapons and mili-
tary supplies purchased by Iran-
but never received-before the
1979 Islamic Revolution.
Diplomats and other analysts in
Nicosia linked the conflicting sig-
nals coming out of Iran, as well as
leaks about a secret U.S.-Iranian
deal to free the hostages, to an
intense power struggle said to be
taking place in Tehran that has
made it unclear who speaks for that
country.
The Speaker of the Iranian Par-
liament, Hashemi Rafsanjani, who
heads one of the factions involved,
told a Tehran rally on Tuesday that
Iran would work for the release of
the American and French hostages
being held by pro- Iranian groups in
Lebanon if the United States and
France agreed to end their "hostile
acts" against Iran.
Rafsanjani made it clear that in
Iran's view, these acts include the
U.S. freeze on arms shipments to
Iran, which is involved in a lengthy
war with Iraq, and a dispute with
the French over the repayment of a
$1 - billion loan extended to France
by the government of the late Shah
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.
Rafsanjani's remarks, along with
several reports published in the
Arab world in recent days, indicate
that there have been secret con-
tacts between U.S. and Iranian
officials aimed at working out a
deal to free the hostages in return
for the spare parts that Iran wants
for its aging U.S. military equip.
ment
Iran's need for these spare parts
is viewed by some analysts as
especially urgent in light of its
Plana to undertake a long-expect-
ed, but much-delayed, offensive
against Iraq.
Moussavi said "there can be no
possibility whatsoever of negotia-
tions between us and the United
States."
Moussavi's remarks coincided
with an announcement by Angli-
can hostage negotiator Terry
Waite that he will not return to
Beirut this week as expected but
will await further developments.
Waite, the Church of England
envoy who has been acting as a
go-between in the hostage negoti-
ations for more than a year, hinted
at a news conference in Wiesbaden,
West Germany, that his efforts to
bring about the release of more
American hostages had run into
difficulties.
Waite accompanied David P. Ja-
cobsen, the American hostage wh^
was freed Sunday, to Wiesbaden
from Beirut on Monday and had
hoped to return to the Lebanese
capital before the end of the week
to bring out two more American
hostages, journalist Terry A. An-
derson, the Beirut bureau chief of
the Associate Press, and Thomas
Sutherland, dean of agriculture at
the American University of Beirut.
Both men, kidnaped more than 18
months ago, are being held by
Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War),
the pro-Iranian group that released
Jacobsen.
Waite told reporters in Wiesba-
den that he will not be returning
immediately to Beirut but will be
"dropping out of public view" for
the next few days in the hopes of
"resuming contacts with a number
of people."
He refused to characterize his
change of plans as a setback but
conceded that he wishes the out-
come. "had been different."
Later in the day, in London, he
said that "rumors and information
spread over the past day have not
helped" his effort to bring about
the release of the hostages. He said
the effort was being hampered by
"a lot of people trying to sabotage"
the negotiations.
caused nervousness among his
contacts in Lebanon and that it
might be "quite some time" before
he could get on with his effort on
behalf of the other hostages.
The Reagan Administration has
refused to comment on the negotia-
tions or Rafsanjani's statement that
Robert C. McFarlane, President
Reagan's former national security
adviser, secretly visited Iran in
September.
But it was clear from Waite's
remarks and other evidence
emerging in the past few days.that
the United States had hoped to
secure the release of at least two
other hostages held by Islamic
Jihad. The three other Americans
held in Lebanon are believed to be
in the custody of groups other than
Islamic Jihad.
The failure to free more Ameri-
cans may be in part a reflection of
the complex power struggle taking
place in Iran between hard-line
and relatively moderate factions
seeking to position themselves to
succeed the Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, Iran's supreme leader,
who is 86 and according to uncon-
firmed reports is bedridden as the
result of a recent heart attack.
The first indication of a secret
U.S.-Iranian deal to free the hos-
tages came in a report by a pro-
Syrian magazine in- Beirut. which
quoted sources close to the Ayatol-
lah Hussein Ali Montazeri. the
leader of one of the Iranian fac-
tions, as saying that McFarlane had
secretly visited Tehran in Septem-
ber to discuss the release of the
hostages in exchange for military
supplies.
Analysts who follow Iranian af-
fairs from Nicosia said the
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/04/27: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605630001-4
 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/04/27: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605630001-4
hard-line Montazeri faction could
have leaked word of McFarlane's
Purported visit in order to embar-
rass and undermine the Rafsanjani
faction, which has been promoting
improved relations with Washing-
ton. But they also speculated that
Syria could have leaked the report
because of what appeared to be an
Iranian attempt to freeze the Da-
mascus government out of the
hostage negotiations.
Rafsanjani, considered a prag-
matist, has been pushing for a new
military offensive against Iraq in an
effort to wind up the seven-year-
old Persian Gulf War. But he has
been stymied by a lack of weapon-
ry and spare parts, which keep
Iran's aging fleet of F-4, F-5 and.
F-14 fighter planes on the ground,
and the country's increasingly
bleak economic situation.
Rafsanjani, in statements carried.
Tuesday by the Iranian news agen-
cy, appeared to be trying to deflect
speculation that Iran had already
struck a deal with the United
States to work for the American
hostages' release in return for a
promise of military spare parts.
Rafsanjani said McFarlane and
four other Americans had come to
Tehran disguised as aircraft crew.
men and carrying Irish Passports.
To cultivate the Iranians, he said,
they also brought a Bible signed by
Reagan and a cake in the shape of a
key. He said his government's
response was to put them under
house arrest in their hotel, refuse to
let them see Iranian officials and
then expel them after five days.
On Wednesday, the Iranians ap-
peared to back away from that
account though there were con-
flicting reports. Rafsanjani was
quoted as saying the man leading
the U.S. delegation. "claimed to be
McFarlane" but that the Speaker
was "unsure if he was the same
person.'
The radio report of Moussavi's
remarks said the former White
House aide showed Iranian authci--
ities a passport to prove his identity
and that Iran has retained photo-
copies of the passport. Moussavi di+d
not say which country issued the
passport.
Meanwhile, in London, an Irani-
an diplomat said Iran played no role
in Jacobsen's release, Seyed JaIal
Sadatian, Iran's charge d'affaires
and Iran's top diplomat in London,
told the Associated Press that
Waite had been in touch with Iran
months ago, but Iranian officials
had urged him to "pursue the
matter
through a different channel."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/04/27: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605630001-4