123 En 3/580: Telegram
The Chargé in Iran (Engert) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:20 p.m.]
35. As I anticipated, the news that I had been granted home leave and that no senior officer would be sent to take my place has caused considerable agitation in Government circles. The wives of three Cabinet officers called on Mrs. Engert to express the hope that we would return and 2 days ago the Grand Master of Ceremonies of the Shah who, although an old friend, had never before dared to call in person came to see me to tell me that the entire Government was in favor of reopening the Legation at Washington but that everybody was afraid His Majesty would fly into a rage if it were proposed to him. I suggested that their fears were perhaps a little exaggerated as after 2 years the Shah might no longer feel so strongly on the subject. My friend then asked if I had any suggestions as to how it should be done. I inquired whether a hint from Ankara might help them to which he replied that it certainly would if it could be arranged as His Majesty was apt to listen to advice from that quarter.
I submit the above for the Department’s consideration in case it should feel inclined to speak of it to the Turkish Ambassador without, of course, mentioning the source. It may prove a means of ending the ridiculous impasse in which the Government finds itself.