Administration Reportedly Rejects Wider U.S. Military Role in Gulf

The Reagan Administration has rejected a request from the U.S. military command in the Persian Gulf that American forces be allowed to extend their protection to non-American ships threatened by Iranian attacks, according to senior U.S. officials.

The proposal, which the officials insisted was put forth only informally, could have increased significantly the level of U.S. military activity in the gulf as well as the probability of clashes with Iranian forces.

“There’s been no change in our policy,” said White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater. “U.S. forces are there to protect U.S. flagships and in some cases ships carrying U.S. military materiel.”

“That would elevate military policy to another level,” one Pentagon official said. “I don’t think our military planners are prepared for that eventuality.”

They were reacting to a Washington Post report on Tuesday that Rear Adm. Harold J. Bernsen, commander of the Middle East Task Force, had asked for greater latitude to strike at Iranian gunboats attacking non-American ships in the gulf.

Administration sources said privately, however, that U.S. military commanders in the gulf have been raising questions about the ambiguities inherent in the current “rules of engagement,” such as what action the command should take if it encounters “a ship in need” that is non-American or U.S.-owned but flying a Panamanian or Liberian flag, as many do.