Captors of US hostages say some are shifted

Students holding the 53 American hostages in Iran said Sunday that some of their captives have been moved from Mahalat, Arak, and Najaf Abad, three towns 150 to 250 miles south of here, to unspecified locations. The captors, who had previously said they dispersed the hostages to 15 towns across Iran after an unsuccessful US mission to rescue them in April, said the new move was a continuation of their policy to relocate the captives.

In Egypt, the deposed Shah of Iran was reported in serious condition after his third emergency operation in a week.

Meanwhile, two Britons said Sunday they had been told to leave Iran within 48 hours after they were detained overnight by unidentified authorities. Christine Powell, a journalist who works for Australian radio and has lived in Iran for six years, and Roger Cooper, a Persian scholar who has lived here off and on for many years, spent about 17 hours in custody after being picked up Saturday night by plainclothes officials.