IRAN SAYS IT INTENDS NO THREAT TO GULF SHIPPING

  Iran said reports that it intended to
  threaten shipping in the Gulf were baseless, and warned the
  U.S. And other countries not to interfere in the region.
      Tehran radio, monitored by the BBC, quoted a Foreign
  Ministry spokesman as saying any attempt at interference would
  be met by "a strong response from Iran and other Moslems in the
  world."
       U.S. Defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger, in remarks
  apparently unrelated to the broadcast, said the U.S. Would do
  whatever was necessary to keep shipping lanes open in the face
  of new Iranian anti-ship missiles in the Gulf.
      The U.S. State Department said two days ago Tehran had been
  told of U.S. Concern that Iranian anti-ship missiles posed a
  threat to the free flow of oil from the Gulf.
      U.S. Officials have said Iran has new Chinese-made
  anti-ship "Silkworm" missiles, which pose a greater threat to
  merchant ships than missiles used before.
      The Iranian spokesman said the reports that Iran intended
  to attack ships were "misleading propaganda."
      He said Iraq's President Saddam Hussein was the main cause
  of tension in the Gulf and said Iran would continue to use "all
  its legitimate means to stem the cause of tension."
      Weinberger said in a television interview in the U.S. "We
  are fully prepared to do what's necessary to keep the shipping
  going and keep the freedom of navigation available in that very
  vital waterway."
      "We aren't going into any disclosures or discussions of what
  might happen, but we are certainly very sympathetic to and
  listening carefully to any suggestions for our assistance in
  keeping navigation free in that area," he said.
      Weinberger said U.S warship movements in the Gulf area were
  not unusual.
      A U.S. Navy battle group led by the aircraft carrier Kitty
  Hawk is currently in the northern Arabian Sea.
      The Iranian spokesman was quoted by Tehran radio as saying
  the U.S. Was trying to build up its military presence in the
  region.
  

