Allies Oust Several Iranians From West Berlin

The Allied Command on Saturday ordered several Iranians out of West Berlin, including members of Iran’s consulate, “in the interests of public order and security,” a U.S. spokesman said.

The Iranians were given an unspecified number of days to leave the city, said Thomas A. Homan, a spokesman for the U.S. diplomatic mission in West Berlin.

He declined to say how many Iranians were affected.

Tehran’s consulate in West Berlin had about a dozen Iranians on its staff, “and it’s safe to assume the number is (now) less than that,” he said.

Other Iranians supposedly affected by the order were diplomats accredited to East Germany and normally residing in East Berlin, he said.

A statement issued by the Allied Kommandantura, the military council that is responsible for the administration of West Berlin, said the “action was taken in the interests of public order and the security of the city.”

The Kommandantura comprises representatives of the British, French and U.S. military governments here.

Allied sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the expulsions could be linked to fears of a terrorist attack, but they declined to elaborate.

West Berlin has been the scene of terrorist attacks in the past, but none has involved Iranians.

Last year, for example, the Allies expelled several Syrians after their country was linked to a bomb attack against West Berlin’s German-Arab Friendship Society.

On Thursday, Secretary of State George P. Shultz said that the United States has to be on the alert in various American installations.

Iran has blamed the United States for a confrontation in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on July 31 that left hundreds of Iranians dead.