Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789ROO0401020001-4
Tetwan Paper Calls for Unconditional Release of Hostages
By Sharif Imam-Jomeh
Swia) to The WasWngton Post
TEHRAN, Feb. 22-The Eng-
lish-language Tehran Times, which
usually voices the opinions of Pres-
ident Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,
called today for the unconditional
release of all foreign hostages being
held in Lebanon, saying that Iran
can continue its "rightful struggle
against the West" in other ways.
Diplomats and analysts here and
abroad said it was unclear what
would be the effect of the call,
which appeared in no other Iranian
news media. In Damascus, howev-
er, Peggy Say, sister of Terry An-
derson, the longest-held American
hostage, wept at the report and
called it "the most encouraging
news that I have heard Reuter
news service reported.
The Tehran Times said all the
factions in Lebanon "should regard
the hostages as victims of imperialist
policies of the West and make at-
tempts to get them all freed." It com-
plained that the continued captivity
of the hostages has benefited West-
ern propaganda against Iran, and
said, "Maybe 1990 will be the year
for the release of all the hostage&"
The editorial reflected many of
the points made by Rafsanjani in a
speech to parliament Tuesday, in
which he said he saw the political
upheaval in the Soviet bloc posing
threats to countries such as Iran.
"The world is getting unipolar,"
Rafsanjani said. "Lots of chances of
independent countries to exploit the
conflicts between superpowers are
fading. Conflicts are turning into un-
derstandings that mainly benefit
those who are hostile to us."
Iran has pressed for Moslem uni-
ty as a response to the changed
world situation, and the editorial


suggested that release of the hos-
tages could further. that goal.
Lebanese militants, most of them
pro-Iranian and believed to be under
Tehran's influence, hold 17 Western
hostages, including eight Americans.
Say was in Damascus today as part,
of a campaign seeking the release of
her brother, Middle East correspon-
dent for the Associated Press, who
was abducted March 16, 1985.
"I have been hoping very much for
this kind of statenient," she told Reu-
ter. "All we can do now is to wait and
see how those people in Lebanon
would react. I do not personally con-
sider Tehran the problem. 1 consider
it part of the solution."
Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789ROO0401020001-4