Iranians kept from hops to US

At London's Heathrow Airport, Iranians were turned back as they tried to board planes for the United States. The US carriers Pan American World Airways and Trans World Airlines said nearly a dozen Iranians had to leave checkout counters at the airport.

The airlines said the US Immigration Act calls for a $5,000 fine for every Iranian passenger they carry, now that President Carter has imposed his strict sanctions on Iran. Only Iranians with US alien-registration cards are being allowed to travel, a Pan Am official said.

A TWA attendant said he turned away an Iranian woman who was returning to her home in the United States after a week's vacation.

"She was speechless," the attendant said. "She could not believe that she couldn't go home."