Israeli Excused From Testifying in Iran Inquiry

Former Israeli official David Kimche said today he was excused from appearing before a federal grand jury investigating the Iran- contra scandal and was preparing to leave the United States.

Kimche, the former director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, appeared with Israeli Ambassador Meir Rosenne at a closed hearing on a motion to quash the grand jury subpoena issued by special prosecutor Lawrence E. Walsh.

“As you can see, I am leaving,” Kimche told reporters after a 90-minute hearing. “I am not appearing” before the grand jury.

Can Come and Go

“I can leave the United States when I wish to and come back when I wish, and as far as I am concerned that is very satisfactory,” he said.

He said he was planning to go back to Israel but said the day of his departure had not been determined.

Attorney Melvin Rishe, who represents the Israeli government, said that U.S. District Judge Aubrey E. Robinson Jr. excused Kimche from testifying while the judge considers Israel’s motions to quash the grand jury subpoena.

Walsh wants to question Kimche about his conversations with Reagan Administration officials regarding the sale of U.S. TOW missiles to Iran in exchange for hostages held in Lebanon.

Free to Leave ‘at Present’

Kimche “is free to leave the country at the present,” Rishe said.

Rishe and Rosenne declined to comment further on the proceedings, which were closed to the public.

Government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the State Department on Thursday formally denied Kimche’s application for diplomatic immunity to avoid compliance with the grand jury subpoena.

Kimche was served with a subpoena earlier this week in New York City, where he was traveling on private business. (Story on Page 21.)

The Israeli government contends that Kimche is entitled to diplomatic immunity because he was once a Foreign Ministry official.