Gas Pipeline With Iran Inaugurated

Turkmenistan and Iran inaugurated a key gas pipeline with hopes that it will soon become part of a much larger regional network sending gas all the way to Europe--a plan watched warily by the United States. President Saparmurad A. Niyazov and visiting Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, on his first overseas visit since his election in May, traveled to the western desert of this financially strapped Central Asian nation to formally launch the 125-mile line. The U.S.--which accuses Iran of sponsoring international terrorism--doesn’t want Tehran to gain too much influence over Caspian resources.