BRITAIN BACKS U.S. STRIKE ON IRAN OIL PLATFORM
  British Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey
  Howe backed the United States' attack on an Iranian oil
  platform on Monday and said it should not worsen the Gulf
  crisis.
      "The United States is fully entitled to take military action
  in exercise of rights of self-defense, in the face of the
  imminent threat of further attacks," Howe said in a statement
  issued in London.
      The United States said its forces destroyed the platform on
  Monday in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack on a U.S.-
  flagged Kuwaiti ship last Friday.
      Referring to that attack, Howe added, "I trust the Iranians
  will fully understand that continued attacks of this kind will
  only enhance justification for firm action in self-defense."
      At a press conferenced in Luxembourg during a meeting of
  European Community (EC) ministers, Howe was asked about
  statements from a senior Iranian official who said America was
  now involved in a full-scale war.
      "It would be profoundly undesirable and quite unjustified
  for Iran to react in that way," he said.
  

