MOSCOW SAYS WILL RETALIATE AGAINST GULF ATTACKS Any Iranian attack on Soviet ships in the Gulf will bring a forceful and violent response, a Soviet foreign ministry official said in an interview published here. Alexander Ivanov, head of the Gulf desk at the Soviet Foreign Ministry, told Al-Rai al-Aam newspaper Moscow "will answer back with force and violence if Iran attempts to attack any Soviet ship or tanker in the Gulf." A Soviet tanker hit a mine in the Gulf last month. Ivanov also accused the United States of stepping up the regional crisis and of failing to exert genuine efforts to end the Iran-Iraq war.