Washington Report, November 26, 1984, Page 8

Facts For Your Files: A Chronology of U.S.-Middle East Relations

October 31:

The U.S. signed over to Israel $1.2 billion in grant economic assistance, an amount approved by Congress under the continuing budget resolution for fiscal 1985. A fraction of the total, $65 million, will be used to fund four U.S.-Israel foundations in the fields of agriculture, education, industry and science.

November 7:

The U.S. and Egypt ended three days of joint air and naval exercises off the Mediterranean coast. The maneuvers, code-named Sea Wind, are the first between the two countries involving air and naval forces.

November 9:

State Department spokesman John Hughes said the U.S. had received new reports on the "severe persecution" of Baha'is in Iran. He said the U.S. called upon the regime of Ayatollah Khomeini to "abide by the (U.N.) Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion and Belief." According to Mr. Hughes, the Khomeini regime is believed to have executed an estimated 175 Baha'is.

November 13:

Security guards protecting the U.S. ambassador's residence in Beirut mistakenly fired at a small, civilian plane that they believed was about to attack. The Saudi-owned plane was not hit. The air space over the ambassador's residence has been closed to civilian traffic for several weeks, at the request of U.S. government officials.

November 13:

Former U.S. President Richard Nixon said in an interview published by The Wall Street Journal that President Reagan should invite Soviet participation in resolving the Arab-Israeli dispute. "I don't want the Russians dominating the area," Mr. Nixon said, "but I think the Soviet Union should play a role in the Middle East." Mr. Nixon, who has been offering advice to President Reagan, also said that next year offered the best hope for a successful Mideast peace effort: "The only time you have a window of opportunity to come up with anything responsible in the Middle East is nonelection years," Mr. Nixon stated. "In 1986, there's no way you can do anything in the Middle East that won't be tilted too far in the direction of Israel."

November 14:

The U.S. disputed France's claim—made jointly with Libya on November 10—that all Libyan troops had withdrawn from northern Chad. State Department spokesman John Hughes said that "substantial (numbers of) Libyan forces do remain in Chad, south of the Aouzou Strip." France had already withdrawn all of its troops from Chad after a 15-month standoff with anti-government insurgents backed by Libyan forces. The Libyans also were supposed to evacuate from their positions under an agreement with France, announced in September.

November 16:

In a reversal of earlier assertions, President Francois Mitterrand of France acknowledged that approximately 1,000 Libyan troops remained in Chad in an area south of the Aouzou Strip.