Iran Crisis Caused by Reagan’s Reckless Policy, Pravda Says

MOSCOW —  The Communist Party newspaper Pravda, in its first detailed analysis of the crisis in the United States over arms sales to Iran, said Tuesday that President Reagan is reaping the fruits of a reckless foreign policy.

Pravda analyst Vitaly Korionov said the scandal offers fresh proof that the Reagan Administration employed hypocrisy and double standards in its dealings with Congress, the American people, U.S. allies and Arab countries.

“The first thing the internal political crisis in Washington brought to light was the White House’s cynical stoking up of regional armed conflicts and smothering of forces struggling for freedom and independence,” Korionov wrote.

‘Adventurist Policy’

” . . . No less obvious is the next aspect of the affair: The Reagan Administration is reaping the fruits of its reckless, adventurist policy, whose essence right-thinking Americans have more than once characterized as ‘banking on force.’ ”

Alluding to the Watergate affair that forced President Richard M. Nixon to resign in 1974, Korionov said certain circles in the United States are trying to distort the essence of the crisis by terming it “The Northgate Affair.”

Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, the Vietnam veteran who oversaw the National Security Council’s covert dealings with Iran, was fired by Reagan, who also announced the resignation of Vice Adm. John M. Poindexter, the national security adviser.

More Than a ‘Mistake’

Pravda’s news analyst said the crisis goes deeper than North’s actions. “The efforts to depict what has come to the surface as some kind of ‘mistake’ can deceive only the most naive people.

“Neither the President’s bravado, nor the screen of denials issued by his closest entourage, are in a position to distract the attention of world public opinion from the unsightly picture that is emerging before the world,” he wrote.

The tone of the commentary differed markedly from that used during the Watergate affair. Moscow played down Nixon’s personal role in that scandal and depicted the crisis as an attempt to sabotage his efforts to build U.S.-Soviet detente.