Word: persian
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...live in peaceful relations (including fairly extensive trade) with the repressive government of the Shah. This was much to the dismay of the Iranian Communist Party--the Tudeh--which often complained bitterly. The strong claims made so far by U.S. leaders that the Soviets were heading for the Persian Gulf and control of the oil fields, or at least the oil shipping routes, are broad speculation. To date, the Soviets are net oil exporters rather than importers, and while it is quite clear that they have a direct interest in the conduct of affairs in the Middle East, they...
...just the same kinds of situations that brought crisis and resentment after the fall of the Shah of Iran. Indeed, as we look at the confrontation building up in the Middle East, with the rapid deployment of U.S. naval forces in the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, we are witnessing just the kind of scenario that experts have long predicted would be the most probable path for beginning a nuclear war. This was recently reinforced by reports of a Defense Department study claiming that adequate defense in the region would require the use of tactical nuclear...
...increasing concern in Washington because the Carter Administration was once again sending out conflicting signals. There were still reverberations from Special Envoy Clark Clifford's visit to New Delhi, where he told a press conference that the U.S. would go to war if the Soviets "move toward the Persian Gulf." Secretary of State Cyrus Vance gently rebuked Clifford, apparently feeling that stating the policy too bluntly could only make Washington's dealings with Moscow more tense than they already are. Such slips may be minor considering the size of the turn that the Administration is making. More open...
Some observers also believe that the Carter policy slides too lightly over the prospect of internal subversion, which is the most likely way the Soviets would try to extend their influence. The risks in the new policy are many, to be sure. Symbolic gestures-such as declaring the Persian Gulf an area of vital American interest-are fine, but only if backed by the real thing. So far the Administration has not defined precisely what it will do, except to state that it would go to war to defend the Gulf. The U.S. may be assuming responsibilities it cannot meet...
During the Islamabad conference of Foreign Ministers from Islamic states, the Saudis led the fight to condemn the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Saudis' specific fear is that Moscow has embarked on a pincer-like squeeze of the Persian Gulf states by moving into Afghanistan and later, conceivably, Iran, even as the Soviets are buttressing their military outposts in South Yemen and Ethiopia...