‘Told You So,’ Iran Tells Neighbors

Iran has chided its Persian Gulf neighbors for ignoring its warnings about dealing with Iraq, its opponent in a bitter and bloody eight-year war.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and urged an immediate withdrawal of Iraqi forces. The ministry’s statement, carried late Thursday by Tehran Radio and monitored in Nicosia, also warned that Iran considers the invasion a threat to regional “stability and security.”

The Arab states of the Persian Gulf backed Iraq with billions of dollars in its 1980-88 war with Iran. Kuwait had been insisting on repayment of war debts, infuriating Iraq’s President Saddam Hussein.

Iran said “recent developments are the consequence of past collaboration with the aggressor” and added that it had “repeatedly pointed out to the regional countries” the threat posed by Iraq.

The Iran-Iraq War ended in a cease-fire in August, 1988, but no formal peace treaty has been signed. The two sides agreed this year to try face-to-face negotiations.

Iran said that as the main regional power, it could not “remain indifferent” to “any development that could endanger its national security.” But it did not spell out what steps it might take in response to the invasion.