891.248/125
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Murray) to the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
Mr. Welles: In my memorandum of July 16, 1941, I referred to my conversation of the preceding day with Mr. Butler in which I suggested the advisability of permitting the shipment to Iran of a small order of spare parts for obsolete planes in order to retain the good will of Iran in view of the possibility of a deterioration of Anglo-Iranian relations in the near future. Mr. Butler agreed to clear this question with the British Purchasing Commission, to avoid the delay of communicating with London, and to provide me with an answer as soon as possible.
A reply from Mr. Butler, however, was not forthcoming, and the Iranian Legation, meanwhile, exerted considerable pressure upon the Department to have the shipment cleared. When it became clear that the suspicions of the Iranian Legation were becoming aroused, it was considered that action could be delayed no longer pending Mr. Butler’s reply. On July 28, therefore, two weeks after the request made to Mr. Butler, the matter was referred to Mr. Acheson,23 who issued appropriate instructions for the clearance of the small shipment of spare parts, and for the exportation of a few other pending shipments of a similar kind.
In the course of a conversation today, I informed Mr. Butler of the action which had been taken, and Mr. Butler agreed that spare parts for American planes already in Iran should go forward, as well as [Page 366] spare parts ordered in Canada now in transit through the United States. (A copy of a memorandum of my conversation with Mr. Butler is attached.24)
It is expected that there may be a few more small shipments of the type referred to above, and the suggestion is made for your approval that these shipments be allowed to go forward.
[This particular issue of American aid to Iran ended with the Soviet-British occupation of Iran in August 1941; see pages 383 ff.]