GULF WATCH: Day 69 : A Daily Briefing Paper On Developments In The Crisis

Military Front:

President Saddam Hussein said Iraq has developed a missile with a range of several hundred miles. Such a weapon would allow Iraq to strike deep into Saudi Arabia, where tens of thousands of American troops are deployed.

Hussein also threatened Israel, saying that nation should evacuate the occupied territories or face quick vengeance for the slayings of 19 Palestinians in Jerusalem. Arab diplomats called the statement an attempt to refocus world opinion from Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

In the northern Arabian Sea, the Navy continued its search for eight missing Marines who were aboard two helicopters that disappeared Monday during a training mission. Hostage Front:

Three more Americans were rounded up and detained in Kuwait, presumably for use as “human shields,” the State Department said. This brings the total of those detained to at least 104. Hundreds more American men are stuck in Iraq and Kuwait against their will; some of them are in hiding.

A U.S.-chartered flight carrying about 400 Americans and foreign-born dependents from Kuwait and Iraq is scheduled to leave Iraq today. This is the last of a series of flights scheduled after Iraq gave women and children permission to leave, although other charters may be added if additional Americans want to leave and can get permission to do so. Economic Front:

Hussein’s threats against Israel sent oil prices soaring to more than $40 a barrel.

At the pump, the average price of self-serve unleaded gasoline nationwide rose 2.4 cents in the last week to $1.37 per gallon, the American Automobile Assn. said. The AAA’s highest recorded price for self-serve unleaded was $1.38 per gallon before the Easter weekend in 1981. Spot Price for Crude Oil, Per Barrel:

Aug. 1: $22.10

Aug. 15: $26.46

Sept. 1: $29.12

Sept. 15: $31.76

Oct. 1: $37.09

Oct. 9: $40.40