701.9111/458
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Iran ( Hornibrook )
Sir: Reference is made to your telegram No. 42 of December 3, 1935 and the Department’s telegraphic reply No. 126 [33] of December 4, 1935 relative to the arrest and temporary detention of the Honorable Ghaffar Djalal, Iranian Minister to the United States, at Elkton, Maryland, on November 27, 1935.
There are transmitted herewith for your personal information and that of your career staff, copies of self-explanatory documents covering the entire history of this case. These documents should be placed in the Legation’s confidential file.
As you will perceive, the Department now views this incident as closed and it is presumed that this view is shared by the Iranian Government. However, in view of the interest of the Iranian Foreign Office in this matter as evidenced in your telegram of December 3, you may seek an appropriate occasion to furnish the Minister of Foreign Affairs a copy of the enclosed press release of December 63 outlining the action taken in response to the Iranian Minister’s protest and also containing a general statement of the Secretary regarding the privilege of diplomatic immunity and the duties imposed thereby.
You are also authorized to furnish the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the event that he should so desire, a copy of the Secretary’s note of December 6 transmitting the apology of the Governor of Maryland to the Iranian Minister and expressing at the same time this Government’s regrets over the incident.
Very truly yours,
- Department of State, Press Releases, December 7, 1935, p. 497.↩