World Notes THE GULF

Frustrated were the peacemakers, especially when the warring parties were Iran and Iraq. Baghdad insisted on direct talks with Tehran before a cease-fire; Iran was holding out for a truce. But at week's end, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein signaled his willingness to accept a cease-fire, provided that talks followed. There was no immediate response from Tehran.

A U.N. investigating team meantime returned to New York from the battlefront with fresh evidence that Iraq is using chemical weapons. According to the experts, Iraqi forces fired poison-gas shells at Iranian troops before retaking the Majnoun Islands in June. The first symptoms in those affected were described as "burning in the eyes and various parts of the body." Last week Iranian officials claimed that Iraqi planes dropped mustard-gas bombs on towns and villages in northwestern Iran, injuring some 1,700 people. Iraq denied the allegations.