IRAQI MISSILE ATTACKS ON TEHRAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 01313 FROM AMCONSUL DUBAI E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR TAGS: MOPS MARR SOCI IR SUBJECT: IRAQI MISSILE ATTACKS ON TEHRAN ¶1. CONFIDENTIAL - ENTIRE TEXT. ¶2. ABOUT FORTY IRAQI MISSILES HAD FALLEN ON TEHRAN AS OF LATE FRIDAY, MARCH 4, ACCORDING TO A TEHRAN BANKING OFFICIAL RECENTLY INTERVIEWED AT AMCONSUL DUBAI. THE RATE OF MISSILE ATTACKS HAD FALLEN FROM AN INITIAL ONE PER HALF HOUR TO ABOUT ONE EVERY FOUR HOURS BY FRIDAY. WHILE MOST OF THE MISSILES FELL ON RESIDENTIAL AREAS, FOUR HOSPITALS AND FOUR MILITARY BARRACKS HAD BEEN HIT, THE SOURCE CLAIMED. HE SAID MISSILES SHATTERED WINDOWS WITHIN A TWO HUNDRED METER RADIUS OF IMPACT, CAUSING MANY INJURIES. ¶3. OUTWARDLY, LIFE IN TEHRAN GOES ON, BUT RESIDENTS ARE ESPECIALLY NERVOUS ABOUT THE MISSILE ATTACKS BECAUSE NO AIR RAID SIRENS ARE SOUNDED IN ADVANCE, ACCORDING TO SEVERAL IRANIANS INTERVIEWED ON MARCH 5 AND ¶6. WHILE RESIDENTS RECEIVE ADEQUATE WARNING OF IMPENDING BOMB ATTACKS, THE FIRST AND ONLY WARNING OF A MISSLE ATTACK IS THE APPARENTLY TERRIFYING NOISE THE MISSILE MAKES SHORTLY BEFORE IMPACT. ONE TEHRANI ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE GREATEST EFFECT OF THE MISSILES IS PSYCHOLOG- ICAL. WHILE HE WAS NOT WORRIED ABOUT ACTUALLY BEING HIT, HE WAS UNDER CONSTANT STRESS BECAUSE OF THE ATTACKS. ¶4. TEHRAN AIRPORT IS OPERATING AS USUAL, BUT INTER- NATIONAL TELEPHONE SERVICE HAS BEEN DISRUPTED. AS OF FRIDAY TEHRAN RESIDENTS TRYING TO CALL ABROAD WERE GIVEN A RECORDING TELLING THEM TO DIAL THE OPERATOR, WHO THEN TOLD THEM ALL LINES WERE FULL. DUBAI SOURCES HAVE TOLD US THAT SOME CALLS HAVE BEEN MADE FROM TEHRAN TO DUBAI. WE UNDERSTAND A SYSTEM HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED WHEREBY TEHRAN RESIDENTS MAY PLACE CALLS OF UP TO THREE MINUTES FROM A CENTRAL EXCHANGE, PROVIDED THEY LIMIT THEIR CONVERSATIONS TO PERSONAL TOPICS ONLY - I.E., NOT THE CURRENT SITUATION IN TEHRAN. ¶5. THE GOI HAS FINGERED THE SOVIETS AS THE CULPRITS FOR SUPPLYING THE MISSILES. AN IRANIAN RESIDENT IN DUBAI MONITERED A BROADCAST SPEECH BY KHOMEINI TWO DAYS AGO CONDEMNING MOSCOW. IRAN TV ALSO DISPLAYED AN UNEXPLODED MISSILE WITH WHAT APPEARED TO BE RUSSIAN LETTERING, AND THE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED A LARGE ANTI- SOVIET PROTEST FOLLOWING FRIDAY (MARCH 4) PRAYERS. THE GOVERNMENT WAS CAREFUL, HOWEVER, TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE POLICE PROTECTION TO THE SOVIET EMBASSY DURING THE PROTEST. ¶6. BAGHDAD MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. MACK