CIA head Casey: Iran is still target of Soviets

A stern warning that the next generation of Soviet leadership may be more subtle, but just as determined to expand Moscow's power. An admonition that the United States ought not to be lulled into accommodation. A charge that the Soviets may be trying to ''inflame and magnify'' the US antinuclear movement.

These are some of the opinions voiced by William Casey, director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, in an exclusive interview with this newspaper.

Some of his comments were more hopeful, however. He asserted that Soviet influence in Central America has waned. And the influence of Libya - a Soviet protege - seems to be falling off in Africa.

But, he said, there are still plenty of potential trouble spots in the world. Among them: the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, and Central America. And he also warned that the Soviets may still be trying to take a major geopolitical prize - control of oil-rich Iran.