The World - News from May 2, 1988

Two U.S. warships escorted three U.S.-flagged Kuwaiti oil tankers toward the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the first convoy since Washington announced new rules of engagement for American forces in the gulf. Shipping officials said the ships are on course to pass through the Strait of Hormuz early today. In Tehran, Speaker Hashemi Rafsanjani told the opening session of Iran’s Parliament that future encounters with the U.S. Navy in the gulf might have repercussions around the world, a statement Western diplomats called a thinly veiled threat of terrorism. Iran has condemned the U.S. plan to extend protection to neutral shipping.