The World - News from Dec. 26, 1986

U.S. and Iranian officials will meet Monday in The Hague, Netherlands, to negotiate on returning to Iran $500 million in frozen assets--an action that could help free American hostages in Lebanon. Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Hashemi Rafsanjani, has said that Iran would intercede on behalf of the American hostages if Washington unfroze and delivered Iranian assets in the United States. But sources close to the talks note that the $500 million is only part of the billions of dollars in frozen assets sought by Iran, and they cautioned against linking progress on the hostages to the meeting.