891.00/1965: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Winant ) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 12—2:05 p.m.]
7035. Foreign Office, on being informed of substance of Department’s 6255, December 10, 9 p.m., concerning arrest of General Zahidi, stated that, in the view of the British military authorities and of the British Minister in Iran, Zahidi was so deeply and dangerously implicated in the plot organized by German agents that his arrest was considered urgently necessary. Careful consideration was given by these British officials and by the Foreign Office to the advisability of informing the Iranian authorities in advance of their intention to arrest Zahidi but, Foreign Office stated, it was decided that to do so would only embarrass the Iranian authorities. According to its reports, Foreign Office added, the arrest passed off quite unnoticed by the public.