News In Brief

Japan unveils plan at UN to restrain Iran-Iraq war

Japan has taken an active role behind the scenes in an attempt to persuade Iran and Iraq to show some restraint in the war they are waging against each other, Monitor correspondent Louis Wiznitzer reports. Japan's foreign minister, Shintaro Abe, unveiled at the UN a limited package deal Sept. 26 that, if it were put to Iraq and Iran by the UN, would stand a good chance of being accepted by both parties, diplomatic sources say. Baghdad and Tehran would simultaneously agree not to use chemical weapons, not to threaten the free navigation in the Persian Gulf, and not to strike at each other's ports.