Iraq Holds Firm on Direct Iran Talks, U.N. Chief Says

U.N. Secratary General Javier Perez de Cuellar said today that Iraq’s foreign minister refused to budge on his insistence for direct talks with Iran before a cease-fire.

Perez de Cuellar told reporters after meeting with Foreign Minister Tarik Aziz that Iraq maintains its position on direct talks, “which I have to respect, of course.” Aziz refused comment.

Iraq said it needs the direct talks as a guarantee of sincerity from Iran, which it fears will seek only a temporary truce to regroup forces.

The meeting was the first in a week between Aziz and Perez de Cuellar, who has also been meeting with Iran’s foreign minister in efforts to arrange a cease-fire in the Iran-Iraq War.

Perez de Cuellar said that he and Aziz had “a very friendly and useful discussion on several subjects related to our common problem, but I am not in a position to go any further.”

Earlier, diplomatic sources said Iraq wanted guarantees from the Security Council before it would accept a U.N. compromise that would reportedly involve the simultaneous announcement of a cease-fire date and invitations for both sides to hold direct talks.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the five permanent members of the council had been developing a plan in an effort to satisfy Iraq.

It was not clear what form the guarantees to Iraq would take. The sources said Iraq wanted a guarantee that Iran would not violate a cease-fire.

Perez de Cuellar received a report Thursday from a U.N. military team that visited both nations on arrangements for a cease-fire. The contents were not disclosed.

In the Persian Gulf, meanwhile, Iranian warplanes today attacked Iraqi troop positions along Iraq’s southwestern border, Tehran Radio reported. The bombers flew three separate missions, “inflicting heavy losses and casualties,” the report said without elaborating.