Iran Again Dangles Offer on Hostages

President Hashemi Rafsanjani today offered to help gain freedom for 18 Western hostages in Lebanon if Washington releases frozen Iranian assets or helps resolve the cases of three kidnaped Iranians.

He appeared to refer to Iranians kidnaped by the Lebanese Forces militia in north Lebanon in 1982, along with their Lebanese driver, a Shiite Muslim. All four are believed dead.

Speaking to a news conference attended by mostly foreign reporters, Rafsanjani also ruled out any participation by U.S. corporations in Iran’s post-war reconstruction.

“I don’t think American companies can play any role in Iran,” he said.

Rafsanjani spoke in a soft voice, smiling frequently as he played with a string of worry beads.

“If the conditions are right, we might be able to do something” about the abducted Westerners, he said.

It was not the first time that Iran has linked its help in releasing Western hostages to the unfreezing of the assets or the release of the kidnaped Iranians.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said, “Our position has not changed. We do not link the Iranian assets to the hostages, and we do not make deals for hostages.”

As for Iran’s influence over the hostages, Fitzwater said, “We have always said we believe that they have an influence on the hostages, that they have considerable knowledge, but we can’t gauge how specific that is.”

He said the United States has provided Iran with all the information it has on Iranians kidnaped in Lebanon.