IN BRIEF : Iran Plans to Seek Foreign Loans

Iran has reversed its policy of refusing to borrow from foreign banks as another step toward rebuilding an economy devastated after eight years of war with Iraq.

In an interview published in today’s New York Times, Gholamreza Agazadeh, Iran’s minister of oil and mineral wealth, said that Iran would borrow for revenue-producing projects and that such borrowing would not exceed $3 billion over the next five years.

“In my country a big debate has gone on,” he said. “Now we have decided the No. 1 priority in this country is reconstruction of the economy.”

Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini banned such loans when he took power 10 years ago and established an Islamic government.

Recent changes in government policy, including a decision to reopen a natural gas pipeline to the Soviet Union announced in December, reflected a decision to pursue a more pragmatic approach to solving the country’s woes, Agazadeh said.