Arms For the Ayatullah

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The underlying problem is that the U.S. has shown little zeal in enforcing the ban on arms sales to Iran. Concedes a high-level State Department official: "It is true that we have not done all we can to stop Israel's reexport of U.S.-made equipment to Iran." The unofficial Administration attitude seems to be that the sale of arms to Iran does little damage to U.S. interests. Says a State Department official: "We don't give a damn as long as the Iran-Iraq carnage doesn't affect our allies in the region or alter the balance of power. Why save Iranians from themselves with Customs resources needed to protect Americans from the drug traffic?"

That is a dubious basis for Government policy. If the U.S. can justify selling arms to Iran, it should not have a firm public policy to the contrary. If, as all relevant high officials insist, the Administration does not condone such sales, then the confusion among agencies, and the illegal trade, should be stopped. As it is, the real benefactors are the illegal arms merchants, who have long flourished in the U.S.

—By Ed Magnuson.

Reported by Jonathan Beaty and Raji Samghabadi/New York and Thomas A. Sancton/Paris