891.515/75: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in Iran ( Dreyfus )
75. 1. The Department has been advised by the British Embassy at Washington that certain classes of interested Iranians have been agitating for the devaluation of the pound sterling in terms of Persian currency.
2. The British Embassy alleges that such a devaluation would adversely affect the United States Government with respect to expenditures for operations in Persia such as the assembly of aircraft at Abadan.
3. The British Government has informed the Iranian Government that it would view with strong disapproval an attempt to fix exchange rates unfavorable to the pound; the British Minister25 has been empowered in his discretion to intimate that such an attempt would affect the British attitude in the matter of economic assistance.
4. The British Government suggests that in view of our common interest in the matter you should be authorized to support the British Minister in resisting the devaluation of the pound sterling.
5. Please report by telegraph: (a) whether the agitation for devaluation referred to by the British has been directed toward the dollar as well as the pound sterling; (b) your views as to the probability that the devaluation of the pound sterling would be accompanied by, or shortly followed by, agitation for devaluation of the dollar with respect to the rial; (c) your views as to the correctness of the British argument in (2) above; (d) if you agree that our interests are involved, whether you believe we should associate ourselves with the British in resisting devaluation.
- Sir Reader W. Bullard, British Minister in Iran.↩