Navy Told to Sink Ships Laying Mines : U.S., British Vessels Given More Freedom Against Iran Moves

U.S. and British naval forces have been ordered to sink high-speed Iranian patrol boats if they are caught laying mines in international waters at entrances to the Persian Gulf, Administration sources said today.

There has been no official announcement, but the new directive has given Western forces escorting shipping vessels through the gulf more freedom to react to Iranian intervention, the sources said.

“Laying mines in international waters is an act of war,” an Administration military specialist said.

U.S. intelligence officials said the patrol boats that have been planting drifting mines and firing on ships in the gulf are operated by radical guerrillas who are not part of the regular Iranian navy.

Behaving Scrupulously

Asked about the orders to sink the boats, a Pentagon spokesman said he would have no comment on “rules of engagement” for U.S. forces.

State Department and Pentagon sources said that, even as the irregular Iranian gunboats have been laying mines in the gulf and international waters, Iran’s regular navy has been clearing the mines and behaving scrupulously toward shipping of other nations.

These sources said the more moderate professional navy has tried to avert a major military confrontation with Western forces.

An Administration official said, “We appear to be in a situation where the Iranian regular navy has been out sweeping up mines being laid or relocated by irregular Iranian speedboats.”

New Element of Danger

To many, the rift between the Islamic fundamentalist naval guerrillas and Iran’s professional navy underscores the internal political divisions that have racked Iran for years.

The heightened activity by Iran’s guerrilla naval guards has introduced a new, unpredictable element of danger to the gulf crisis.

U.S. intelligence sources, expressing deep concern about two incidents in recent days, said the guerrilla activity may pose a “serious threat” to U.S. warships escorting reflagged Kuwaiti tankers through the gulf.

On Saturday, a Swedish-owned tender, the Anita, sank after it struck one of the explosive devices off the United Arab Emirates port of Fujaira. The ship was in the Gulf of Oman outside the Persian Gulf in an area considered to be the high seas when it sank, killing at least six people aboard, a U.S. official said.

Tanker Fired On

On Tuesday, two Iranian patrol boats fired on the Norwegian-operated tanker Osco Sierra in the Gulf of Oman when it refused orders to stop for an inspection, Administration officials said.

The sources said the United States has been consulting with its allies about ways to counter the new aggressiveness, including joint tactics for intercepting Iranian patrol boats or fishing vessels that might be used to plant mines.

“Consultations are going on and . . . they are considering joint action,” an Administration official said, noting that countries involved include Britain, France, Italy, West Germany and the Netherlands.

An Administration source said U.S. and British forces have already agreed that “if positive identification is made” of Iranian patrol or fishing boats planting mines, “action will be taken” to sink the vessels.