Iranian Shows Bible He Says Is From Reagan

Iranian Parliament Speaker Hashemi Rafsanjani on Wednesday showed reporters the Bible he said was sent by President Reagan and said the U.S. leader is courageous but old, weak, in bad health and undercut by political rivals.

Rafsanjani displayed the leather-bound “Open Book Bible-Expanded Edition” at a news conference, holding it open to the title page bearing Reagan’s name and a handwritten New Testament verse:

“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations shall be blessed in you.’ Galatians 3:8” (signed) Ronald Reagan, Oct. 3, 1986.

Common Ancestry

That inscription hearkens to Abraham, known to Muslims as Ibrahim, who is regarded as the common ancestor of both Jews and Muslims. Jews trace their ancestry through his son Isaac, and Muslims through his oldest son, Ishmael.

Rafsanjani said the Bible is being studied by Iranian intelligence agents.

In Washington, White House spokesman Larry Speakes said he did not know whether Reagan signed the Bible, which reportedly was sent to the Islamic government as a peace gesture in an arms-for-hostages mission.

Rafsanjani also displayed a photocopy of what he said were false Irish passports carried by Robert C. McFarlane, former U.S. national security adviser, on his secret visit to Tehran last May.

One passport had McFarlane’s picture but gave his name as Sean Devlin and said he was born in Dublin on Aug. 14, 1937, lived in Ireland, had hazel eyes and was 5-foot-10.

Rafsanjani said the Bible was not brought by McFarlane but by another U.S. government emissary whom he did not identify.

Reporters at the news conference had to leave watches, wallets, rings and all other personal items except money, a pen and a note pad in a rigorous security check at the gate of the Parliament complex in central Tehran. Only cameras and tape recorders left overnight for inspection were allowed in the hall.

Rafsanjani said Reagan showed courage in seeking better relations with Iran and in saying there was no evidence Tehran was responsible for any terrorist acts in the past year and a half.

“I think this is a courageous statement by Mr. Reagan, contrary to the propaganda in the United States against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Rafsanjani said.

But he said Reagan was old, weak and in bad health and unable to counter unspecified rivals within his Republican Party.

‘Has Been Defeated’

“He acted weakly and has been defeated,” Rafsanjani said.

The Speaker, considered the second most powerful man in Iran after the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, called on the United States to release $507 million in Iranian assets frozen by President Jimmy Carter after the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

“The Americans must release our assets and when they give the orders for their release, we are prepared to help them,” he said.

The United States and Iran have been negotiating over the assets at a special tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.

Rafsanjani said the Americans tried about a month ago in Frankfurt, West Germany, to renew contact through Iran’s arms dealers, this time with a “Mr. Dunbar” of the U.S. State Department in the delegation, but Iran rejected the initiative.

“I think the time is not right that we have talk or discussion with the United States,” Rafsanjani said through an interpreter.

Purpose of Contact

Secretary of State George P. Shultz told a Senate committee this week that the sole purpose of the December contact was to tell Iran there would be no more arm-for-hostages deals.

Rafsanjani said he had no information on Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite, who has been in Beirut working to win freedom for Western hostages but has not reappeared since Jan. 20. The Church of England said in London late Wednesday that it received word that Waite was safe and continuing his mission.

“If we can do anything for him we shall do so,” Rafsanjani said.

Some Shia Muslim groups holding Western hostages in Lebanon are believed to have close ties to Iran, but Iranian officials deny they have the power to order the captives freed.

Message to U.S., France

The Parliament Speaker said Iran has tried to identify those in Lebanon with influence over the hostage keepers, believes it has succeeded, and has told the United States and France they must stop being hostile to Iran if they want help.

“If you expect us to do something for you, you must do something to show you are not against us,” he said.

Rafsanjani also mentioned the case of a Canadian oil engineer, Philip Engs, who was arrested Dec. 2 in Iran on charges of espionage.

“He is now being interrogated,” he said. “I think if he has not committed a serious crime, he will be released.”

Engs, 29, an employee of the New York- and Paris-based Schlumberger International, was detained after returning to Iran from a visit home.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Engs was accused of photographing sensitive military sites.