Waite’s Health Said to Be Deteriorating

BEIRUT —  A Lebanese magazine reported Friday that Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite, believed held by pro-Iranian fundamentalists in Beirut’s southern suburbs, is ill.

The weekly Ash Shiraa magazine, which first broke the news of secret U.S. arms dealings with Iran which triggered the Iran-Contra controversy, quoted “well-informed sources” as saying that “the health of Terry Waite has recently deteriorated.”

“The captors brought a doctor to treat him for a disease in his stomach. . . . This sudden deterioration in Waite’s health may become a reason to speed up his release.”

There have been mounting reports in Beirut that Waite’s release is imminent. The leftist As Safir newspaper has recently said that the plight of foreign hostages could end soon and that the 47-year-old Waite would be the first to be freed.