At War on All Fronts

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Tehran and Paris have been at daggers' points since mid-July, when France tried to question Wahid Gordji, an Iranian embassy translator. French police suspect that Gordji, who took refuge in the embassy, is linked to a string of Paris bombings last fall. When French officers surrounded the Iranian embassy to prevent Gordji's escape, Iran sealed off the French embassy in Tehran.

Speaking in a televised interview last week, French Premier Jacques Chirac declared that "we have no intention of giving in to blackmail." In an obvious reference to French warships headed for the gulf, Chirac vowed that "we will intervene" if Iran launched a military attack. Yet Chirac's room for maneuver is sharply limited. Any French military action could endanger the lives of the embassy captives in Tehran and the five French hostages held in Lebanon.

Britain treaded more cautiously last week. London's relations with Tehran have been tense since May, when an Iranian diplomat was arrested for shoplifting. After Iranian Revolutionary Guards beat a British embassy official in response, the two countries began to expel one another's diplomats. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has not wanted to push the quarrel any further, though. Sounded out privately two weeks ago by Washington about sending minesweepers to the gulf, she politely said no. Thatcher reportedly was furious when U.S. Ambassador Charles Price formally repeated the same request, forcing her to reject the U.S. again, this time in public. Thatcher has added reason to look askance at the highly publicized American escort operation: London has quietly escorted British tankers through gulf waters for the past six years.

The Soviet Union, meanwhile, gladly seized the opportunity to play a larger role in the gulf. Indeed, it was a Soviet decision last spring to charter three oil tankers to Kuwait that drove the Reagan Administration to counter the move by reflagging Kuwaiti vessels. But in reporting last week's negotiations with Iran, the Soviet news agency TASS noted that both Moscow and Tehran expressed mutual concern over the "unprecedented buildup of the U.S. military presence in the region." Nonetheless, the potential partnership poses problems for both countries. The Soviet Union remains a major arms supplier to Iraq. And Moscow cannot ignore the potential appeal of Khomeini's fiery fundamentalism to Soviet Muslim communities in Central Asia.

Yet Iran's economic woes seem to be nudging it toward the Kremlin. The turning point came last year with the arrival of the highest-ranking Soviet delegation to visit Tehran since the 1979 revolution. Then in December Tehran reported that the Soviets had agreed in principle to resume imports of Iranian natural gas and that the two countries were exploring the joint production of steel and petrochemicals.

For all his bluster, Khomeini is adept at turning the fears and jealousies of rival nations to his own advantage. "Look at Iran's position today," says a senior Israeli. "No one can ignore it. And many will even admire it." Part of that success stems from Khomeini's shrewd cynicism and ability to size up opponents. Speaking of Washington two years ago, the Ayatullah dryly observed, "It is clear that if we take one step toward the U.S., they take 100 in return."