Iraq’s Hard Line Threatens Peace, Iran President Says

Iraq’s hard-line behavior has raised doubts about the possibility of peace in the Persian Gulf War, President Ali Khamenei of Iran said Tuesday.

At the same time, huge crowds demonstrated in the streets of Iranian cities to show their support for a decision by the country’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to accept a U.N. cease-fire resolution.

President Khamenei appeared to be addressing Iraq’s latest demands when he said in a speech at Ahvaz, broadcast by Tehran Radio, that Iraq would remain “a constant threat under our noses” unless the Iranian armed forces demonstrated an ability to defend the country.

If Iraq insists on conditions for a cease-fire--Iraq wants direct Iran-Iraq talks first--then Iran will set its own conditions, such as punishment of the “Iraqi aggressor,” he said.

Tehran Demand Dropped

For several years, Tehran had insisted that peace must be preceded by the punishment of Iraq’s President Saddam Hussein for invading Iran in 1980. It dropped this demand only on July 18, when it accepted all the terms specified in the U.N. Security Council’s Resolution 598.

“The Iraqi regime’s attitude during the past two weeks, its obstructionist behavior regarding the implementation of Resolution 598 and its excuses have cast doubts on the prospect of achieving peace,” Khamenei said. “In light of this situation, I look at the prospect of achieving peace and an end to the war in the context of Resolution 598 as extremely doubtful and suspect.”

Diplomats in Baghdad and Tehran said that the aggressive Iraqi attitude of recent days--Iraq has carried out several incursions into Iran--have the potential for torpedoing efforts to bring about a cease-fire.

Demonstrations Rival 1979’s

Iranian news reports described Tuesday’s street demonstrations as second only to those that erupted in 1979 when Khomeini returned to Iran from exile in Paris, after the overthrow of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

One of the banners carried Tuesday in Tehran bore the message “We will not give up support for the imam (Khomeini) even if we are all killed.” Another proclaimed, “We are all your soldiers, Khomeini, ready to follow your orders.”

The demonstrations were reportedly ordered by the Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, who is Khomeini’s hand-picked successor as spiritual leader of the Islamic revolution. Montazeri described Khomeini’s acceptance of the U.N. cease-fire resolution as “serving the cause of God and the interests of Islam, the revolution and the Iranian people.”

There have been scattered reports of anti-government disturbances in Iran since Khomeini announced his acceptance of the cease-fire resolution, primarily by hard-liners who favor a continued war effort and relatives of men killed in the eight-year-old war. Tuesday’s demonstration was apparently aimed in part at uniting the country behind Khomeini despite the concern raised by his abrupt about-face on the war.

Iraq-Arab League Talks

In Iraq, meanwhile, according to Baghdad Radio, high-ranking Iraqi officials met with an Arab League committee on the war. Taking part were the foreign ministers of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen.

Diplomats in the region said the meeting was called to marshal Arab support behind Iraq’s policy of insisting on direct Iran-Iraq negotiations before any cease-fire.

The Iraqis have maintained that without direct talks, Iran could use a cease-fire to rearm and then resume the war.

In another development, Iran asserted that it had lured followers of the Moujahedeen, an anti-Khomeini opposition group, deep into Iranian territory last week. It said that Iranian forces trapped the rebels near Eslamabad and killed more than 4,800 of them in two days of heavy fighting.

A Moujahedeen spokesman said the Iranian report was an exaggeration and that rebel casualties amounted to no more than about 1,000.