840.50/2209
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. Roy Veatch of the Office of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations
| Participants: | Mr. Mohammed Shayesteh, Minister of Iran |
| Mr. Acheson | |
| Mr. Veatch |
The Minister said that the principal purpose of his visit was to inquire regarding the seeming limitation of the scope of operations of the proposed organization, by the wording of the Preamble, to territory which had been occupied by the enemy. He said that the economy of Iran and the welfare of the Iranians was being seriously affected by the war and that, speaking for himself without instructions from his Government, he would like to urge that the wording of the agreement be so revised as to make it possible for the new organization to extend aid to such territories. He thought that similar need for assistance [Page 913] might arise in territories which are now neutral, such as Turkey or in other areas which have not been occupied by the enemy.
Mr. Acheson explained that the Preamble was not intended to limit the activities of the organization to areas occupied by the enemy. The purpose of this wording was to make it clear that the organization was not intended to send food or other assistance into territories still occupied by the enemy. He pointed out then that Article I provides that the purpose of the organization is to extend assistance to the victims of war, in territory under the control of the United Nations, this limitation again making it clear that assistance was not to be extended behind the enemy lines. He said that the emphasis should be placed upon the victims of war, wherever they might be found outside of enemy occupied territory. For instance, the bombing of an area, even a neutral area, by the enemy would create needs which the organization would be expected to meet since the people suffering from such bombing would be victims of war. On the other hand, the new organization would not be expected to extend assistance to any other area in the world merely because it is not now as prosperous as formerly on account of the war.
The Minister said that in his opinion Iran has suffered greatly from the war operations. He pointed out that Iran is occupied by the United Nations forces, not by the Axis, that it has been called upon to supply great amounts of food and other materials, that its transportation facilities, its factories and its manpower have been mobilized for the Allied war effort, that inflation has resulted, and that the Iranians are in need of many things because of the shortage created by these military demands. He said that his country had not been bombed but that he did feel that they had suffered from the war and that if possible the draft agreement should be so worded as to allow the new organization to extend assistance to it.
Mr. Acheson explained that there are existing organizations in a position to extend assistance in situations such as those described by the Minister and that in the case of Iran assistance is actually being extended by the Lend-Lease Administration, by the financial advisers under the direction of Dr. Millspaugh, and by other means. The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration would not be the principal organization to deal with such problems.
The Minister thanked Mr. Acheson for this explanation and said that he would like to check his understanding of what Mr. Acheson had said. He interpreted Mr. Acheson’s statements to mean that the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration would not be in a position to extend assistance to his country so long as Iran was not directly hit by the war.
Mr. Acheson said that he had not intended to make a legalistic or rigid statement in response to the Minister’s question. Some unforeseen [Page 914] disaster might occur in Iran or similar areas as a result of the war which would require assistance of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration—for instance an epidemic might develop and it should be handled by UNRRA. He explained, however, that the new United Nations relief organization should not be brought into a situation unless it was actually needed, that is unless other organizations were not able to extend the needed assistance. On the other hand there was nothing in the charter of the organization to prevent it from going into new areas outside of territory controlled by the enemy. The emphasis on liberated areas in the Preamble was designed partly for the purpose of emphasizing the most immediate and pressing job, namely assistance to those areas most directly affected by the war, but it did not exclude the possibility of operations in other areas.
The Minister said he appreciated this clarification of the situation.
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