Look for Another Hostage Release, Syrians Say : Lebanon: But officials tell U.S. they do not know if he will come from the group that held Polhill.

Syrian officials have notified the United States to expect the release of another American hostage by Friday, barring unforeseen circumstances and delays of the sort that accompanied Robert Polhill’s release, a Bush Administration source said Monday.

The source said he does not know if the alert involves one of the two Americans still held by the Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine, the group that released Polhill on Sunday. Other militant Islamic groups hold five other Americans.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati said Monday he expects a second captive to be freed in the “next few days.”

However, he coupled his prediction with a hint that future hostage releases will depend on the release of four Iranians abducted in Lebanon in 1982--and now believed by U.S. officials to be dead--and 400 Lebanese and Palestinians, including a prominent Shiite Muslim religious leader, who are under Israeli control.

Velayati’s remarks underscored the deep concern among U.S. officials that efforts to gain the freedom of the seven American hostages will become embroiled in what has been a sticking point on and off since the start of the current hostage crisis: The freedom of the prisoners held in Israel and the four Iranians.

Thus, while some U.S. officials expressed tentative optimism that there may be movement toward more hostage releases, one U.S. official suggested that Polhill’s release will not open the floodgates.

“This is not like the Berlin Wall coming down. It’s not going to happen in a weekend,” the official said.

One State Department official, reflecting a degree of tentative optimism, commented: “If this is an effort to bring us to the bargaining table, then they’re barking up the wrong tree. If this is a desire to recognize that the hostage-holding business is not good for Iran or its economy, then we’re moving in the right direction.”

Speaking at a news conference moments after Velayati’s comments were broadcast in an interview on the Cable News Network, Secretary of State James A. Baker III appeared to confirm the difficulty that the renewed demand would cause.

“We’re really not into this bargaining or negotiating trades or making deals for our hostages,” he said. “We’re not going to deal. We’re not going to negotiate. We’ve said that before and seen hostages released. We’ve said that before and not seen hostages released.”

He said he remains hopeful that more hostages will be released. But he refused to say on what his optimism is based.

President Bush, who greeted news of Polhill’s release with low-key praise for the role of Syria, and the less-certain help of Iran, made no public comments Monday on the Middle East developments. However, he spoke by telephone with Syrian President Hafez Assad, thanking him for Syrian assistance and expressing interest in the fate of the remaining hostages, a White House spokesman said.

Meanwhile, with the freedom of the remaining American hostages possibly linked to the freedom of the Shiite Muslim figure held in Israel, Sheik Abdel Karim Obeid, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater was deliberately vague when he was asked whether the United States is seeking Obeid’s release from Israel. The sheik was captured in July, 1989, in Lebanon and was taken to Israel.

In the television interview, Velayati called for examples of goodwill on the part of all those involved in the knotty Middle East hostage situation, including the United States and Iran, other Western nations and the myriad of political groups in Lebanon.

He said Iran used its “moral influence” on the Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine, which released Polhill on Sunday and is believed to be holding two other Americans, Alann Steen and Jesse Turner.

Velayati called on President Bush to reciprocate by using “moral influence” on Israel to eliminate all obstacles standing between improved relations between the United States and Iran.

In the shadowy world of Iranian politics, Velayati occupies an important post as one of the closest advisers to President Hashemi Rafsanjani, and he is considered the leading foreign affairs pragmatist in Tehran. In 1984, he heralded the effort by Iran to open itself to improved ties with the West, telling the Parliament: “The world is determined on the diplomatic scene. If we are not present, it will be determined without us.”

Describing Iran as “the first victim of the hostage-taking in Lebanon,” because three Iranian diplomats and a journalist were seized in July, 1982, he said Western nations “have a strong influence” on the Christian militia believed to have captured them. On three occasions since they were seized, the CIA has checked and each time has reported that they were believed to all be dead.

Their abduction marked the beginning of the hostage phenomenon in Lebanon, which has led to scores of abductions.

Times staff writer Norman Kempster also contributed to this report.