Office of the Historian

59. Telegram From the Embassy in Iran to the Department of State1

Tehran, December 9, 1964, 5 p.m.

643. Deptel 419 and Embtel 630.2 Vienna Convention. I am pleased to report that we have today consummated satisfactory exchange of notes on immunities and exemptions of our Military Missions in Iran.

There are altogether three notes, texts of which will be pouched:

1.
One Iranian note referring to our note 299 and transmitting text of law passed on October 13 (Emb A–195);3
2.
Another Iranian note also replying to our note 299, referring to recent ratification of Vienna Convention, and containing satisfactory statement that immunities and exemptions will apply to “American military and non-military personnel who are in Iran under agreements or arrangements between the two govts.”
3.
Our reply, acknowledging the two replies to our note 299 as also constituting favorable and acceptable response to our note 243, and adding [Page 115] waiver provision as per Deptel 419 with restrictive definition (accepted by FonOff) to make sure it cannot be invoked in case of traffic and other minor offenses.4

Dept will note that manner in which notes have been drafted also relieves us of need to argue that units such as Gulf district, signal relay etc. come under heading of “advisory” as note two covers everybody not covered under note one.

In difficult and protracted discussions to bring about this result it has been necessary to modify language supplied in Deptel 413, but all our essential requirements are met and in some cases they are exceeded.

Status law has not yet been promulgated. Probable date of promulgation is December 17.

Holmes
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, DEF 15–3 IRAN-U.S.. Confidential. Repeated to CINCSTRIKE and CINCSTRIKE for POLAD.↩
  2. Dated November 16 and December 5, respectively. (Ibid.)↩
  3. Dated October 27. (Ibid.)↩
  4. Telegram 413 to Tehran, November 13, had authorized the Embassy to affirm that U.S. authorities would give sympathetic consideration to a request from Iranian authorities for waiver of immunity in cases where those authorities considered such a waiver to be of particular importance. (Ibid.) Telegram 419 to Tehran, November 16, added a restrictive definition to the waiver provision to ensure that it would not be invoked in the case of traffic or other minor offenses. (Ibid.)↩