740.0011 European War 1939/14394
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
The Minister of Iran called at his request. He handed to me the attached memorandum82 relative to serious differences between his Government and the Government of Great Britain. The Minister then proceeded orally to refer to this threatened invasion by the British and requested my views as to what the attitude of this Government would be in the event of such invasion. He dwelt at length upon the principles governing normal peaceful international relations which I and other officials of this Government often refer to and proclaim, and he concluded his statement with an inquiry as to what this Government would be disposed to do in the way of preventing the threatened British invasion.
I replied that the British military authorities, of course, plan all of their strategy without any consultation or discussion with any official of this Government, that there seems to be a possibility of invasion of that general area of the world by the Germans and of the [Page 407] necessity of defensive activities to be taken against them by the British. I then said that no one could tell when or just where such invasion would finally develop if it should develop, and that, of course, this Government could not define any new policy, if it should have in mind any such policy in a contingent way, upon a purely theoretical military situation to which the Minister referred. I said that our two countries are on thoroughly friendly relations and we feel most kindly towards the people of Iran, but that I think the Minister must realize that I am not in a position to discuss contingent or theoretical cases in advance. I added that while Iran is neutral, as the Minister states, the Germans have no respect whatever for neutrality, but counsel a neutral nation to remain perfectly quiet and neutral until Hitler gets well ready to invade and conquer it in short order and throw it into a state of serfdom or semi-slavery; and that the British aided by us and others are struggling desperately to prevent the Hitler conquest from reaching Great Britain and thereby most seriously endangering the Western Hemisphere.
The Minister repeatedly talked as though his country would fight if the British undertake by force to occupy it for any purpose. I indicated that the British, of course, have nothing against Iran, but on the contrary have extensive trading relations with them. They are only striving to defend themselves successfully against German invasion. The Minister did not press further for a promise on the part of this Government to interfere, except to say that if this Government would say but one word to the British, he believed that they would not invade Iran.
- Supra.↩