MOSCOW SAYS WILL RETALIATE AGAINST GULF ATTACKS
Any Iranian attack on Soviet ships in the
Gulf will bring a forceful and violent response, a Soviet
foreign ministry official said in an interview published here.
    Alexander Ivanov, head of the Gulf desk at the Soviet
Foreign Ministry, told Al-Rai al-Aam newspaper Moscow "will
answer back with force and violence if Iran attempts to attack
any Soviet ship or tanker in the Gulf." A Soviet tanker hit a
mine in the Gulf last month.
    Ivanov also accused the United States of stepping up the
regional crisis and of failing to exert genuine efforts to end
the Iran-Iraq war.
 REUTER
