740.0011 European War 1939/14764: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received 7:45 p.m.]
1638. For the President, the Secretary, and the Under Secretary. My 1632, September 6, 2 p.m. The Iranian Ambassador called on me yesterday evening and gave me the following information concerning the status of the Anglo-Soviet-Iranian negotiations.
Recent notes of the Soviet and British Governments to the Iranian Government specify the area of Iranian territory to be occupied by their respective troops and require the expulsion of the Germans as well as an undertaking by the Iranian Government to facilitate railroad transportation through Iran.
The territory which it is proposed shall be occupied by Soviet troops is as follows: an area including all of Iranian Azerbaijan from Ouchaia[?] on the Turkish-Iranian frontier passing through Rezaye [Rizaiyeh], Heydarabad [Haidarabad], Meyandoal [Miyanduab], Zendjon [Zenjan], Kazvin and Amul to a point on the Caspian Sea and including Meshed at which place the Soviets desire to station 12,000 troops and 50 planes.
The area which it is proposed shall be occupied by British troops is to include Khaneghein [Khanaqin?], Kaszy, Chirin [Qasr-i-Shirin], and Kermanshah including the Port of Deylam [Dilan] on the Persian Gulf.
The Soviet advance has been stopped at Kazvin and the British advance at Hamadan.
In order to avoid even the appearance of any infringement of Iranian sovereignty, the Soviet and British Governments will not insist on the departure of the German and Italian diplomatic missions.
The Ambassador stated that he does not anticipate any difficulty with respect to the demand for the expulsion of the Germans or the facilitating of railroad traffic as the former would be completed “within a week” and the latter was agreeable to the Iranian Government. In so far as concerns the area which Britain proposes be occupied by its troops, he said it appeared to be reasonable as it was obviously limited to the protection of the oil fields and the facilitating [Page 457] of railroad transportation, in addition to which the Iranian Government does not fear the British occupation. In consequence, he was satisfied that his Government would have no objection to the acceptance of the terms of the British note.
Insofar as concerns the area proposed to be occupied by Soviet troops, however, he said that it is “five times great” as that proposed to be occupied by the British and constitutes an unreasonably large area of occupation. He added that as the Iranian Government fears the Soviet Union and communism and is by no means persuaded that the Soviet Government will ultimately withdraw its forces, he is seriously concerned lest the Shah refuse to accept the Soviet proposal. The Ambassador then said that he is endeavoring to persuade the Soviet Government to reduce the area which it proposes to occupy. Should the negotiations threaten to break down, he said he was considering returning immediately to Tehran, as he believed he could persuade the Shah to accept the Soviet and British proposals subject to modification along the lines described above.
In connection with the possibility that it might be necessary for him to proceed to Tehran to discuss the matter with the Shah he said he was anxious not to be absent from Moscow during the Anglo-American-Soviet conference40a and that he would appreciate being informed as to whether the conference was imminent. As I understand that our Government is desirous of a speedy and satisfactory settlement of the Iranian matter and as I believe that the presence in Tehran of the Ambassador and his personal presentation to the Shah of his point of view might effectively contribute to that end, I felt justified in saying to him that if, as he had stated, he contemplated an absence from Moscow of only about 2 weeks, I did not think the Anglo-American-Soviet conference would begin within that time.
- W. Averell Harriman, Special Representative of President Roosevelt, and Chairman of the Special Mission to the Soviet Union, with a British counterpart led by Lord Beaverbrook, held conferences in Moscow, September 29–October 1, 1941. For correspondence, see vol. i, pp. 825–851, passim.↩