EIGHT Americans were dead, seven helicopters abandoned, and a giant Hercules transport place was a burnt-out wreck in the Iranian desert at the end of President Carter╒s most disastrous night in office. The one note of comfort at the end of the bungled attempt to free the American hostages held in the US Embassy in Tehran was the relatively restrained reaction of the Iranians.
In spite of fierce rhetoric from Ayatollah Khomeini, there was no sign last night that the conditions of the 50 hostages had changed for the worse.
Western Governments reacted with astonishment. None had been told in advance. London sympathised with President Carter but the Italian Foreign Ministry which has been preparing for this weekend╒s EEC summit criticised the use of force.
The Soviet Union was quick to condemn the raid as a dangerous gamble which bordered on insanity and ╥might have resulted in mass bloodshed.╙ The Soviet Foreign Minister, Mr Gromyko, told a press conference in Paris that he could not believe the news at first.
In Iran, the Foreign Minister, Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, warned that if similar operations were mounted, he would order the Iranian oil fields to be set ablaze. Ayatollah Khomeini said the hostages would have been killed if the raiders had reached the embassy.
Hundreds of jubilant Iranians marched outside the embassy. Although there was no immediate news of the hostages inside, they appeared to be unharmed.
