U.S. AND SOVIETS FLEXED MUSCLES IN '80 FACEDOWN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100160030-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 3, 2012
• Sequence Number: 30
• Publication Date: October 23, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Si Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RD
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ARTICLE APPEARED
ON PAGEr ~.-_-,
J.S. and Soviets
Flexed Muscles
In '80 Eicedown
Locked in secret Pentagon files
are the startling details of a Soviet-
American facedown over [ran in Au-
gust, 1980, a confrontation so
fraught with risk that it produced
rumblings of nuclear reprisals, :tl ,.
The Soviets began building --up
their forces along the Iranian border
in 1980. According to Soviet intel-
ligence cables intercepted by the Na-
tional Security Agency, the Kremlin
anticipated a U.S. military move
against [ran in October, 1980.
The intercepted cables indicated
that as early as July the Soviets had
THE WASHINGTON POST
23 October 1981
ing a mock national Soviet invasion
of [ran was held in the transhorder
area. A complex, theater-level com
mand, control, and communications
system was deployed and tested;
contingency plans were. developed,
evaluated and updated; and high-
level commanders and staffs. re-
hearsed roles in an invasion scenar-
io."
Evidently, ? this was, intended as a
warning to Carter to abandon his
"October, coup," a term that kept
recurring in the Soviet cables to de-
scribe the expected U.S. action in
Iran. .. .
Carter had taken the precaution
of asking the Defense Intelligence
Agency to "study and report on pos-
sible Soviet military reactions to var-
ious scenarios in which the United
States forces have . invaded Iran."
detected preparations by the United me UtA conctuded? that the Soviets
States for military action in [ran. would intervene.
'
The cables alerted Soviet outposts
that then-President Carter was plan-
ning an "October coup" in [ran and
warned that the Soviet Union would
have to meet force with force.
As a show of strength, the Krem-
lin bolstered its military forces on
the Iranian border and put them
through some ominous exercises.
These were described by the U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff in a top-secret
the D[A warning and the Soviet
maneuvers apparently . persuaded
Carter to give up the idea of a mil-
itary operation against Iran. He
called upon the joint chiefs, however,
to- prepare various military options
in case the Soviets carried out an
invasion of [ran.
One ominous proposal, called the
"limited strategic option," would
have authorized the commander of
fare confined to Iran, critics warni?d,
was a dream that could turn into a
nightmare.
Even as the Soviet juggernaut was
staging its mock invasion of Iran, I
reported on Aug. 18, 1980, that Car-
ter was preparing to attack Iran.
"The ostensible purpose," I wrote, "is
to rescue the [American) hostages,
but the operation would also exact
military retribution.
The question of publishing this
classified material was the thornier
because it dealt with military oper-
ations still in preparation. But I
hoped to restrain Carter, whose
course, I warned, "would risk war
with the Soviet Union." A Soviet-
American confrontation over Iran, I
warned, "could become the opening-
skirmish of World War.III."
My associate Dale Van Atta
learned that the National Security
Agency had picked up intercepts
that dealt with a massive Soviet
buildup on the Iranian border. Ire-
ported on Sept. 22 that Russia had
"at least 23 divisions in position to
move into Irate..,.. What has
alarmed U.S. analysts more than the
quantity of the Soviet buildup near
Iran is the quality of the forces, ar-
rayed there." . ,
The White House denied my.re-
ports. But the important thing was
that the incendiary action was carr-
celed, a dangerous confrontation was
avoided and the American hostages
eventually, were returned.
report: the ldapid Deployment Force to use
"In August, 1980, an unusually 19 nuclear bombs delivered by B52
long and complex [Soviets General bombers against invading Russians..
Staff-controlled post exercise featur- But the idea of limited nuclear war,
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100160030-4