U.S. Snubs Iran Demand for Talk Preconditions

WASHINGTON —  The Reagan Administration on Monday shrugged off an Iranian offer to discuss ways to thaw the relationship between the two countries after the Tehran regime demanded the release of impounded Iranian funds or another American gesture as a condition for the talks.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the Iranian government’s position was that “any improvement in relations would require some kind of action on the assets or some other quid pro quo . . . which we are not prepared to do.”

State Department spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley said Iran delivered an “authoritative” reply to U.S. overtures for a new round of talks late Friday. But she said the message, delivered by a go-between she declined to name, contained nothing that Iranian officials had not previously said in public.

Suggested Contacts

The Administration suggested renewed contacts last month after Iran said it was prepared to accept a U.N.-ordered cease-fire in its war with Iraq. At the time, U.S. officials said Washington hoped that Iran would help obtain the release of hostages held by pro-Iranian militants in Lebanon.

“The situation remains the same, that we’re willing to talk to the (Iranian) government if they’ll provide an authoritative source to do it,” Fitzwater said.

But a State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Washington will not even reply to the latest Iranian note. He said that if Iran wants to improve the relationship, it is up to the government of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to make the next move.

‘Owe Us Messages’

When reminded that Iran produced the most recent entry in the thin file of correspondence between the two countries and, under normal circumstances, that it would be Washington’s turn to write, the official responded: “They owe us more messages than we owe them.”

The official characterized Iran’s attitude this way: “If you give us a gesture like freeing assets, then maybe we’ll be willing to talk about things like freeing the hostages.

“That’s not going to work with anybody here,” he said.

The U.S. government froze Iran’s accounts in American banks when Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. The U.S. government has agreed in principle to use the money to satisfy valid financial claims by American individuals and corporations against the Iranian government and ultimately to return the remainder of the funds to Tehran.

A special international tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands, is reviewing the conflicting claims. However, the Iranian government has repeatedly demanded the immediate return of all the money.