Word: khomeini
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...Will Khomeini invade Iraq in order to topple Saddam Hussein...
...mood of jubilation prevailed in the Hosseynieh mosque, adjacent to Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini's residence in a village north of Tehran. Khomeini, 82, leaned on two aides as he walked up a flight of stairs leading from his house to the balcony of the mosque, from which he often speaks. In the midst of a rambling discourse on domestic issues, he turned to the subject of his army's victories against Iraq in the 20-month-old border war. In effect, Khomeini declared that, come what may, he would square accounts with his enemy Iraqi President Saddam Hussein...
...Khomeini then turned his attention to nonaligned leaders who are scheduled to meet in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in September. Declared the Ayatullah: "You will earn yourselves eternal shame if you choose a dead murderer as your leader. You cannot cleanse him of the stains of his crimes, even if you use all the oceans of the world. Don't trouble yourselves...
Iranian officials say that Khomeini has treated the Soviets with a mixture of opportunism and cynicism, relying on them for security assistance when he needed it and pretending to be interested in cooperation in other spheres. Comments one senior cleric in Tehran: "Khomeini could turn out to be a bigger disaster for the Russians than he has been for the Americans. For three years, the Russians have had an uncontested field in Iran, but they have gained little more than ulcers from this supposed boon...
...considerably less sanguine in its assessment of the situation. It realizes that an independent Iran, even an Islamic republic run by Khomeini, is the most reliable buffer between the Soviet Union and the Persian Gulf. Washington therefore will do nothing to push Iran into the Soviet orbit. On the other hand, the U.S. strongly favors the survival of Saddam Hussein, who in his quest for Western support has steadily moderated his anti-Israeli and anti-American radicalism. The U.S. probably welcomed Saddam Hussein's thrust into Iran in September 1980, believing it would increase the pressure on Khomeini...