Iraqi Planes Raid Iran; U.N Talks Still Stalled

Iran reported new Iraqi air raids Wednesday as U.N. talks on a cease-fire in the Persian Gulf War remained stalled over Iraq’s demand for face-to-face talks with Iran.

The Iranian military said it shot down one of the Iraqi jets that raided “industrial-labor units” in the southern province of Bushehr. Other planes inflicted damage on similar sites in Khuzistan province, the official Iranian news agency said.

An Iraqi military spokesman said in Baghdad: “Our warplanes achieved two heroic operations to destroy the economic mainstays which support the Iranian enemy war effort.”

The fresh war action occurred as U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar awaited the report of a team of experts that has studied cease-fire logistics in Iran and Iraq.

The team’s leader, Lt. Gen. Martin Vadset of Norway, is due to submit his findings today, after which Perez de Cuellar is expected to set a date for a cease-fire.

The U.N. leader so far has been unable to agree on a date with Iran and Iraq because of the dispute over direct talks, which Baghdad insists must come first. Tehran maintains that a cease-fire should be the initial step.

Iraq’s first deputy prime minister, Taha Yassin Ramadan, said in Jordan on Wednesday that any U.N. move to set a cease-fire date in advance of direct talks between the combatants would be harmful.

He told Jordan’s official news agency Petra: “Such a step would only damage the peace process, and I don’t believe the U.N. leader is not keen on achieving peace.”

Perez de Cuellar has said a cease-fire date “does not depend on the parties.” Iran has urged him to declare a date with or without Iraqi approval.