701.9111/590
Mr. William H. Hornibrook to the Chargé in Iran (Merriam)12
Dear Mr. Merriam: Your letter under date of June 24th,13 was received today and I hasten to correct what appears to be a misapprehension as to representations which were made by the Legation to the Iranian Government in connection with the attacks of the American press against the Shah.
In your letter you state: “According to my recollection, it was the Legation which on the 14th or the 15th of March suggested that you would do what you could about securing legal protection for foreign sovereigns from the American press when you reached home”.
No such representations were at any time made by me, nor by any member of the Legation staff. The only representations authorized, and the only representations made as far as my knowledge goes, were in the form of a definite promise that I would be very glad indeed to present in their entirety, the views of the Iranian Government pertaining to a change in our Constitution immediately upon the date of my arrival in Washington. It was also rather broadly hinted to Soheily, that it would perhaps be unwise for the Foreign Office to take any further action in connection with its complaint as to unfriendly newspaper publicity in the American Press prior to the date of my arrival in Washington and the submission of my personal report on American-Iranian relations. This was done in the hope that a “cooling time” would thus be provided during the period that I was in transit. It was hinted that at such conference there might be a possibility of working out informally, some plan with the American Press Association which would be helpful, but at no time was an express or implied promise given that such an objective could be obtained, that I proposed to recommend a change in the organic laws of the United States or that I would do more than to present the views of the Iranian Foreign Office as to such proposed change.
The first intimation that Kazemi proposed to ask us to change our constitutional provisions came in the form of a veiled hint a week or two prior to the day of my departure, I think on the occasion when [Page 372] I asked for an audience with the Shah or at one of the numerous diplomatic dinners, but the proposal took definite shape and form in all of its banality at the dinner given by the Prime Minister on the eve of my departure. I outlined to you briefly, the substance of that conversation just prior to leaving Teheran on the following morning but so the matter may be clarified in your mind and that there may be no doubt as to just what transpired at that interview, I am reducing to writing the salient features of the same to the end that it may be retained as a part of the permanent records of the Legation.
In anything but a happy and agreeable frame of mind, Kazemi approached me shortly after the dinner with a rather undiplomatic and bold statement that “articles such as recently appeared in the New York newspapers must be stopped by your Government”. I once again called his attention to the constitutional provisions guaranteeing the freedom of the press, pointed out the impossibility of the Department exercising legal control over American publications, and asserted any suggestions which proposed to take away the constitutional provisions guaranteeing such freedom would, in all probability meet with vigorous opposition, both from members of Congress and the newspapers affected. I added that the publication of this and other articles of an uncomplimentary character were a matter of great regret to the Department and to myself and attempted to the best of my ability to minimize the effect of the same upon public sentiment in the United States.
Kazemi was in no frame of mind to listen to explanations. His reply was in the form of a question and an answer and was as follows: “Is not France like the United States, a Republican form of Government? France only recently changed its laws so that unpleasant comments about sovereigns of friendly states are now prohibited. What France did I am sure that your Country could do even tho a change in your laws would be necessary in order to accomplish this purpose”.
I then explained to the Minister the long series of delays that would of necessity ensue under our form of Government in the event that a proposal of this character should be formally submitted to Congress. I ventured the opinion that perhaps the best that could be hoped for would be informal representations to the press by the Department of State but that I was not authorized to give any assurance as to the Department’s position on that subject. I did agree, however, to submit his views to Washington as soon as I arrived, and, if, after the matter had been discussed I could find a way to be helpful, I would, of course, do what I could to work out some informal solution of the difficulty. This angle of the situation was thoroughly explored while I was in Washington with the result that [Page 373] Department officials agreed the time was not opportune to take the matter up officially with the American Press Association.
The final words of the Minister were: “We are depending upon your Government to make the necessary changes in your laws and we are depending upon you to present our views to Washington”. He asked as to the exact date of my arrival in New York and reminded me once or twice that he fully expected me to take the matter up both with the President and the Secretary of State. It should, therefore, appear quite plain that Kazemi left nothing to imagination or surmise.
[The remainder of this letter is of a personal nature unrelated to the subject discussed above.]
Sincerely yours,