891.458/34: Telegram
The Chargé in Iran (Engert) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3:37 p.m.]
23. Personal for Murray. Incidents similar to the one described in my despatch 1212, January 13,5 have literally so frightened Cabinet [Page 728] officers that they will not mention to the Shah anything they fear might annoy him. With the approval of the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs I have therefore requested the Prime Minister to read to the Shah himself the telegram which the President will presumably address to His Majesty on his birthday March 15 and I have suggested that he take that occasion to refer to the desirability of normalizing the relations with the United States. This he has promised to do.
The Department may therefore wish to bear this special circumstance in mind when submitting a draft of the message to the White House. The telegram should if possible arrive Monday night.
I shall reply later to your kind message of March 4, 7 p.m.6