891.00/1904
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Murray)
The Iranian Minister called on me by appointment this afternoon and discussed at some length what he regards as the critical situation of his country as a result of the pressure now being brought upon Iran by both London and Moscow because of the alleged presence in Iran of several thousand German nationals suspected of seditious activities. Mr. Schayesteh seemed to be deeply troubled and declared that the present developments had an ominous resemblance both to the situation leading up to the partition of Persia in 1907 between Czarist Russia and Great Britain and to the callous disregard of Persia’s declared neutrality during the last World War by the same two countries.
Insisting that the number of Germans now in Iran was grossly exaggerated, the Minister went on to explain that the Iranian Government, as the Department must be aware, has during recent years exercised the greatest precaution in granting visas to any foreigners entering that country. He reminded me that the Iranian Legation in Washington had to refer to Tehran, and receive its approval, any requests for visas, even for American Consular officers proceeding to Iran. Such being the case, the Minister said he was convinced that the present accusations leveled at Iran by Moscow and London were merely [Page 394] a pretext preparatory to aggressive measures against his country—Iran was cast for the role of the lamb in Aesop’s fable of “The Wolf and the Lamb”.
The Minister said he greatly feared that a situation was developing in which Iran might become a victim of British and Soviet aggression and he added that, in such an eventuality, his country would certainly expect to receive moral support and even material assistance from this country. The Minister then launched into a recital of the tragic history of Iran during the past century or more, when she had been subject to constant threats and menaces of both Russia and Britain, rivals for a position of supremacy in the ancient kingdom. This struggle had led to the practical extinction of Iran as a sovereign power in 1907 and the total disappearance of Iran was only avoided by the defeat of Czarist Russia in 1917 and the new orientation in the foreign policy of the Soviet Union assumed in the Soviet-Persian Treaty of 1921.72 The Minister felt that the Shah had really been divinely sent to rescue Iran from her hopeless situation and that his accomplishments during the last twenty years in providing Iran with self-respect and reestablishing her position in the society of nations had been little short of miraculous. All of this would be threatened with destruction if the present developments continued.
I asked the Minister whether he believed the Shah would consent to a request from either Great Britain or Russia for the passage of troops across his territory. The Minister said the Shah’s pride and character was such that he would be incapable of accepting any such demand, even though a refusal might mean disastrous defeat. When I questioned the Minister as to whether he believed the Shah would permit the passage of arms and munitions over the new Iranian railroad from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea, he said he was not able to answer that question.
Returning again to the question of the alleged thousands of “tourists” and agents in Iran, I asked the Minister whether he had any precise figures in that regard. He said his impression was that there were not more than six or seven hundred in all. I then suggested that it might be helpful if he would obtain exact information from his Government on that subject. I also expressed an interest in being informed of the substance of the recent communications exchanged between Tehran and London and Tehran and Moscow on this subject. The Minister said he would not fail to acquaint himself with the facts without delay.
In departing the Minister said he was hoping and praying that this present crisis might be alleviated at an early moment but that, if this did not occur, he contemplated seeking an occasion to present the viewpoint of his Government on this subject to the Secretary of State.
- League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. ix, p. 383.↩