184. Letter From the Ambassador to Iran (Meyer) to the Country Director for Iran (Eliot)1
Dear Ted:
The Secretary’s blitz visit to Tehran was a complete success.
It was successful probably more from the standpoint of form than substance. No thorny issues were raised by HIM. He did not play his usual record of grievances against the USG. Nor did he even broach the question of the dates of his forthcoming visit.
However, for three hours the two were on almost exactly the same wave length on world affairs. Not once was the phrase “independent policy” mentioned. On the contrary, the thrust of the whole evening’s conversation was thwarting communist efforts everywhere in the world, not excluding Iran.
It was particularly helpful to have this pro-free world dialogue so manifest at the dinner table. While Aram and Alam needed no shoring up, it was good to remind Hoveyda that Iranian and American policies are still fundamentally in step. Sometimes our good friend Amir Abbas tends to be carried away by street plaudits vis-a-vis palsywalsyness with the Eastern bloc.
Even in the public domain one can feel the good effects of the Secretary’s visit. The mere fact that HIM welcomed his visitor and spent three hours in intimate conversation belied suspicions that relations between the United States and Iran have cooled. One gets the feeling around here that Iranians generally now realize that the detente with the North has not greatly changed the relationship with our country.
A dividend for you and me was that both the Secretary and Bill Bundy came away more impressed than ever with respect to the Shah’s dedication and profundity of knowledge. Like many others who have had audiences, they know of few if any other Chiefs of State who have such a detailed knowledge (tons of rice per hectare, for example) re matters in and outside the country as does HIM. This firsthand recent impression, coupled with the obvious progress which Iran is making, should hopefully stand us in good stead whenever Iran’s name comes before the Secretary in future months.
All this does not mean that all of our problems are solved. Naturally HIM would prefer not to harangue the Secretary as he does the Secretary’s Ambassador. Nevertheless, for the time being, particularly after [Page 338] the oil settlement, there is somewhat of a turmoil gap. We hope to prolong it as much as possible.
Fond regards of the Season.
Sincerely,
- Source: Department of State, NEA/IRN Files: Lot 70 D 330, Iran 1966, POL 7, Secretary Rusk’s Visit to Tehran, December 12, 1966. Confidential.↩