The Reagan Administration ended a week in which its commitment to its official anti-terrorism policy was questioned by announcing economic sanctions against Syria.
The announcement by the White House on Friday came after President Reagan’s nationally-televised speech Thursday night on the Administration’s secret 18-month dealings with Iran, which like Syria is on the State Department’s list of states that sponsor terrorism.
Reagan said one of the four aims of the talks with Iranian officials was to end Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism and subversion of other countries.
“Since U.S. government contact began with Iran, there’s been no evidence of Iranian government complicity in acts of terrorism against the United States,” the President said. “Hostages have come home — and we welcome the efforts that the government of Iran has taken in the past and is currently undertaking.”
White House spokesman Larry Speakes said the sanctions were being taken because “the conviction of Nezar Hindawi in a British court directly implicated the Syrian government in the attempted bombing of the El Al plane. More than 230 Americans and almost 200 passengers of other nationalities were on-board the flight and would have died had the terrorist operation been successful.”
State Department spokesman Charles Redman noted that Syria has been on the Department’s terrorism list since 1979, but until the El Al attempt it had “plausible denials” for most terrorist acts linked to Damascus.
The sanctions announced by Speakes followed the U.S. recall of its Ambassador from Damascus and Britain’s break in relations with Syria as well as some sanctions by the European Economic Community on Monday.
The U.S. sanctions include: expanding the current restrictions on exports to Syria to include national security items such as computers, technical data, airplanes and parts for planes; a ban on selling of tickets in the U.S. for the Syrian national airline; and the reduction in the already small number of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus and the Syrian Embassy in Washington.
In addition, the Administration is asking U.S. oil companies to discontinue operating in Syria. There also will be no high-level visits between the U.S. and Syria.
Redman said the U.S. does not expect the steps taken by the U.S. to have an immediate effect, but was sending a “signal” to Syria.
“These measures are intended to convince the Syrian government that state support of terrorism will not be tolerated by the civilized world,” Speakes said. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation and take additional steps as necessary.”
Redman said that steps for Syria to take are closing the Abu Nidal group’s office in Damascus and shutting down the terrorist groups operating from Syrian-controlled territory in Lebanon.
Both Speakes and Redman stressed that Syria cannot be accepted as a “responsible power” and play the key role it has in the Middle East as long as it continues to sponsor terrorism.
On Sunday, Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad accused the U.S. and Great Britain of supporting terrorist activities and called for the formation of an international committee to determine the definition of terrorism.
Reagan, in his speech Thursday night, said the U.S. undertook the “secret diplomatic initiative” with Iran not only to convince it to end state-sponsored terrorism, but to renew its relations with Iran to try to end the Iran-Iraq war and to bring about the safe return of American hostages held in Lebanon.
He denied that the U.S. sent arms to Iran to get the release of hostages. He said he authorized “small amounts of defensive weapons and spare parts” as “a signal that the United States was prepared to replace the animosity between us with a new relationship.” He said the several deliveries could all fit in a single cargo plane.
Reagan said it was made clear to the Iranians that they must oppose terrorism. “The most significant step which Iran would take, we indicated, would be to use its influence on Lebanon to secure the release of all hostages held there,” the President said.
Reagan did not mention any Israeli role in the dealings with Iran. A senior Administration official, briefing foreign reporters Friday, said there was “no Israeli role.” But he said there were many intermediaries during the 18 months both from within the Middle East and without.
However, there have been reports that David Kimche was one of the intermediaries when he was Director General of the Israel Foreign Ministry. It also has been reported that the arms to Iran were supplied by Israel, which was then restocked by the U.S.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
