RUSSIANS FLEEING FROM IRAN

Intelligence sources in Iran have reported early Oct. 1 that the entire staff of Russian nuclear engineers and experts employed in building the nuclear reactor at Bushehr had abruptly packed their bags Friday, Sept. 28, and flew back to Russia.

There is no more information from any source as to why this has taken place.The Information originated with the ethnic Arabs who live near the reactor or who come in contact with its Russian staff.

If true, then there could be only three hypothetical scenarios to account forthe Russians' precipitate departure:

1. Another crisis has cropped up in the patchy Russian-Iranian dealings over the Bushehr reactor. But this is unlikely because Russian president VladimarPutin is due for a high-profile visit to Tehran on Oct. 16, when he plans to sign a series of nuclear accords with the Islamic Republic.

Furthermore, Moscow, like Beijing, stands foursquare behind Iran's efforts to delay harsher sanctions for its continued uranium enrichment.

Only this week,the two powers gained Iran two to three months' grace by forcing a delay in the UN Security Council session that was to have approved a third round ofsanctions.

2. Moscow or Tehran has been tipped off that a U.S or Israeli attack is imminent on the Nuclear Plant and Iran's other nuclear installations and this prompt them to get the Russian personnel out of harm's way.

3. Moscow has intelligence that an Iranian pre-emptive attack is imminent against American targets in Iraq and the Persian Gulf and/or Israel.