Iran Suspends POW Exchange; Iraq Retaliates

NICOSIA, Cyprus —  Iran announced Sunday that it is suspending an exchange of sick and wounded prisoners from the Persian Gulf War because Iraq had returned too few Iranian POWs, Tehran Radio said.

The radio, monitored in Nicosia, said Iran’s Foreign Ministry sent a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross, sponsor of the exchange, demanding the immediate release of an additional 67 Iranians.

“By continuing this behavior, Iraq, in effect, will keep imprisoned many sick and wounded Iranian prisoners, and their release will not be guaranteed,” the Iranian radio quoted the letter as saying.

Iraq Blames Iranians

Iraq reacted by charging Tehran with violating the agreement signed with the Red Cross in Geneva and by blaming Iran for its actions.

“Iran is responsible for the suspension in the repatriation of sick and wounded prisoners,” Akram Watari, director of the legal department at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, said.

U.N.-sponsored peace negotiations following an Aug. 20 cease-fire in the eight-year Iran-Iraq War are stalled, but the prisoner exchange agreement was reached in separate talks with the Red Cross.

The Red Cross has registered names of 50,182 Iraqi and 19,284 Iranian POWs, but it estimates the total number on both sides at 100,000.

Under a Nov. 11 accord, Iran and Iraq agreed to release up to 1,570 sick and disabled POWs in batches of about 150, who would fly home aboard a plane chartered by the Red Cross.

Began Last Thursday

The 10-day operation started last Thursday, but Iran freed 52 Iraqi prisoners instead of the 110 due for repatriation that day. It claimed that the remainder had asked for asylum in Iran or had recovered from their wounds and so were no longer eligible for exchange.

In retaliation, Iraq sent back 19 instead of 41 Iranian POWs.

The third prisoner swap took place Sunday morning with 52 Iraqis and 19 Iranians being released.

Watari said that Iraq will continue repatriating sick and wounded POWs but insisted the exchange will be based on reciprocity. “We will send them the same proportion they send us,” he said.

The disagreement came as Iran’s spiritual leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was reported to be calling for an Iranian military buildup despite the cease-fire.

“In view of the situation . . . we should reconsider our responsibilities for our military buildup,” he was quoted as saying during a recent Cabinet meeting by the Tehran daily Keyhan.

“We should not fancy now that the war is now finished but should rather think as though we were in war,” he reportedly said.