Bani-Sadr heads forces; panel awaits Tehran OK

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Tuesday gave President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr supreme command over Iran's armed forces, in the latest move to strengthen Mr. Bani-Sadr's authority and end the dispersion of powers in the country.

There was no official confirmation in Tehran of reports from the United Nations that Mr. Bani-Sadr had given telephone approval of UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim's proposed international commission to investigate Iran's grievances against the deposed Shah. But a Swiss charter plane was standing by at the Geneva airport to fly the commission to Tehran whenever Iranian authorities confirmed that they had agreed to its composition, according to a UN spokesman.

One of the five members of the inquiry panel, Harry W. Jayewardene, a Sri Lankan lawyer, was already in Geneva Tuesday afternoon; the others were expected by Wednesday morning.

Both the Iranian government and the White House, meanwhile, denied reports from Paris that Foreign Minister Sadeq Ghotbzadeh and White House aide Hamilton Jordan recently met at the Paris home of Argentine businessman Hector Villalon.