U.S. Again Warns Iran on Acts by Terrorists

The Reagan Administration renewed its warning to Iran on Thursday that it will respond “with whatever actions we deem most appropriate” to terrorist acts sponsored by foreign governments.

“Our policy on state-sponsored terrorism is very explicit,” White House spokesman Larry Speakes said. “We will respond with whatever actions we deem most appropriate against those responsible for state-supported terrorism. We consider it a threat to civilized society, and all of us share a responsibility in this regard.”

Speakes’ comment, and a nearly identical statement by State Department spokesman Bernard Kalb, repeated language the Administration has used several times before on the issue of state-sponsored terrorism.

Both officials were responding to unconfirmed reports that the United States had sent a new private warning to Iran’s radical Islamic regime over the fate of four American hostages seized by pro-Iranian militants in Lebanon.

The group that claims to hold the hostages, Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War), publicly threatened last week that the captives may suffer unless 17 pro-Iranian terrorists are released from Kuwaiti prisons.

Speakes and Kalb refused to say whether the United States is considering specific actions that could be taken against Iran if the four hostages are harmed.

But a senior Administration official, speaking on condition that he not be identified, said that such actions have long been under discussion. He refused to say whether a new warning has been sent privately to the Tehran government of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini but added, “We think the Iranians are well aware of our concerns.”

Administration officials long have charged that Iran’s government is responsible, directly or indirectly, for much of the terrorism carried out by pro-Khomeini groups in Lebanon, including the October, 1983, bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks that killed more than 260 American servicemen.

Robert C. McFarlane, President Reagan’s national security adviser, said in a March speech that “there is . . . sufficient evidence that radical Shiite terrorists are responsive to Iranian guidance for us to hold Tehran responsible for such attacks against United States citizens, property and interests.”

He said the United States should be prepared to retaliate against “bona fide military targets in a state which directs terrorist actions against us.” McFarlane echoed a series of speeches given last year by Secretary of State George P. Shultz, who also urged the use of U.S. force against terrorists, even though “we may never have the kind of evidence that can stand up in an American court of law.”

The Hearst News Service quoted an unidentified senior Administration official Thursday as saying that a plan for quick military retaliation has been devised for use if there were “unambiguous” proof that Iran was involved directly in any action against the hostages.

The news service said options being considered include U.S. bombing raids against the Iranian Shia Muslim religious center of Qom, Iran’s main oil depot at Kharg Island, the Iranian naval base at Bandar Abbas and the alleged headquarters of Islamic Jihad in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Senior Administration officials refused to comment on that report.