Ayatollah Appears Strong in 1st Speech Since November : Khomeini Vows ‘War Until Victory’ Against Iraq

The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared Tuesday that Iran’s long conflict with Iraq is a holy crusade and that his fundamentalist regime will make “war until victory.”

The 86-year-old Shia Muslim patriarch delivered his first public speech in nearly three months on the eve of the eighth anniversary of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi’s fall from power.

There have been rumors that Khomeini was in poor health, but his voice was strong and steady during the 17-minute address broadcast by Tehran radio, which was monitored here. His remarks also were reported by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Khomeini said Iran is battling for a “divine cause” in the war, which began in September, 1980, with an invasion by Iraq in a dispute over the Shatt al Arab waterway.

“Families and children are now being killed, and this is hard for us and brings pressure to bear,” he said. The speech was delivered at a mosque near his home in a suburb of Tehran, the news agency and radio said.

Thousands Reported Killed

Iraq and Iran have pounded each other’s cities recently with air raids, artillery and missiles. Thousands of civilians have been reported killed or wounded.

“Almost every day Iran is hit and many children, youngsters, old men and ordinary people see their homes fall in on them, but as soon as they clamber from the rubble they speak of the need for us to make war until victory,” Khomeini claimed.

Mass rallies are planned today to mark the anniversary of the dissolution of Parliament on Feb. 11, 1979, less than two weeks after Khomeini’s triumphant return from exile. The shah had left the country on Jan. 15, 1979. An Islamic republic was established on April 1 of that year after a nationwide referendum.

Tuesday’s speech was the first public address by Khomeini since Nov. 20 when he condemned Iranian officials who wanted contact with the United States, a reference to the Iran- contra arms deal.

Khomeini Reportedly Ill

Western news reports have said Khomeini suffered at least one stroke late last year and was staying out of daily affairs because of bad health. Speculation arose again Sunday because President Ali Khamenei read a speech for Khomeini while the patriarch sat in silence.

Before Khomeini spoke on Tuesday, President Khamenei said Iran does not want to widen the war and seeks to expand “brotherly relations with its neighbors.”

“Iran is interested in assuring the security of the region in cooperation with all Persian Gulf countries,” the official news agency quoted him as saying at an anniversary ceremony in Tehran.

He also issued this warning to countries that provide arms or other aid to Iraq: “We identify our enemies and our friends, especially in these fateful days.”

Threats Against Kuwait

Iran has made thinly veiled threats against Kuwait for letting Iraqi warplanes use its airspace for attacks on Iran’s vital oil installations. Iranian forces have pushed westward into southern Iraq toward Basra, just 45 miles north of Kuwait, in an offensive that began Jan. 9.

Hashemi Rafsanjani, Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, told an academic audience in Tehran that both superpowers see non-Arab Iran as a threat to such Arab moderates as Egypt, Jordan and “other lackeys of imperialism.”

He noted the presence of U.S., Soviet, French and British warships in the general area and said “the mere mention of an Iranian victory” in the war “brings an increase in the foreign fleets in the Persian Gulf.”