Office of the Historian

132. Memorandum of Conversation1

Ankara, April 19, 1966, 7:05 p.m.

PARTICIPANTS

  • United States
    • The Secretary Assistant
    • Secretary Hare
    • Mr. Patricelli
  • Iran
    • Foreign Minister Aram

SUBJECT

  • United States-Iran Relations

The Foreign Minister, noting that he was speaking at the Shah’s request, raised the question of “the purchase of arms, which was very dear [Page 234] to His Majesty’s heart.” He referred to the recent exchange of correspondence between President Johnson and the Shah, and said that His Majesty had been very pleased with the last reply from the President. He stated that the Shah was waiting anxiously to see what General Peterson’s report on Iranian arms requirements would conclude. His Majesty felt that Iran was a stable country in the midst of a number of less stable nations, and that it was to the advantage of Iran’s friends that she remain stable. She had to be strong, therefore, but in fact she was weak in the Persian Gulf and her air force was inferior to Iraq’s. Thus, His Majesty wants very much to purchase arms from the U.S. on favorable terms, but if the terms were unfavorable Iran would have to look elsewhere. The Foreign Minister hoped that the U.S. would not take offense at this kind of statement, for Iran remained a staunch friend of the U.S. Rather it was a matter of the independence of the country and of her stability.

The Secretary said we understood and would examine carefully the Shah’s proposals in a helpful spirit. The Secretary said that we did not take offense. His Majesty is responsible for Iran and we are responsible for the U.S. And we are two strong, independent, self-respecting peoples. The Foreign Minister stated that he would like to have something to carry back to the Shah about the possibility of purchase of arms in the U.S., and the Secretary asked Assistant Secretary Hare to cable Washington to determine the status of the Military Mission’s report. We will try to have something soon for the Foreign Minister.

The Secretary observed that His Majesty was a remarkable man, always looking ahead and anxious to achieve great performance. If the Shah reflected back ten or fifteen years, he might well conclude that Iran had never been more secure or economically sound and might feel reassured at her success, for which he himself had been largely responsible. We understood his nervousness about Baghdad and Egypt, but those were minor league threats compared to the Soviet threat which had been much more serious.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL IRAN–US. Secret. Drafted by Robert E. Patricelli on April 21 and approved in S on May 3. The source text is labeled “Part VI of VIII.” The meeting took place at the Ambassador’s residence. Secretary of State Rusk was in Ankara heading the U.S. observer delegation to the 14th Ministerial Council session of the Central Treaty Organization. Briefing material and other memoranda of conversations from Rusk’s trip are ibid., S/S Conference Files: Lot 67 D 305.↩