Office of the Historian

811.24591/2: Telegram

The Minister in Iran (Dreyfus) to the Secretary of State

Tehran, January 8, 1943—3 p.m.
[Received January 9—4:23 a.m.]

23. Prime Minister26 has on two occasions recently expressed desire to have United States adhere to Tripartite Pact27 and following is a paraphrase of a note dated January 6 received from Foreign Office:

“A few thousand fully equipped American troops have recently arrived in this country although no negotiations had been undertaken with either the Iranian authorities here or the Imperial Legation Washington. Since this action is not in keeping with the spirit of cooperation and cordiality that has always been in existence and continues to exist between the United States of America and the Imperial Government, and since it is not consistent with Iranian territorial integrity and the independence and sovereignty of Iran, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has cause to believe that by this action the United States shows its intention of adhering to the Tripartite Pact concluded between Iran, USSR and Great Britain January 29, 1942. It is requested, therefore, that the United States Legation bring to the attention of the high authorities of its Government the fact that in order to clarify our mutual relations, the Imperial Government is prepared to alter the Tripartite Pact to a four power pact to include the United States.”

For various angles of this subject see Department’s 29, February 9, and 390 [December 23] and 10, January 5, 1943, also my 72, March 16 and despatch 205, February 9.28

This Foreign Office note brings into the open for consideration and solution the questions of our possible adherence to the Tripartite Pact, the making of ad hoc agreements or a general pact with Iran legalizing the status of our forces in this country, and the eventual adherence of Iran to the United Nations Declaration.29 It should be pointed out that Annex 3 of the provisions of the Tripartite Pact are inconsistent with terms of the United Nations Declaration.

An early expression of Department’s attitude on this important matter would be appreciated.

Dreyfus
  1. Ahmad Qavam.↩
  2. Signed at Tehran, January 29, 1942; for correspondence on this subject see Foreign Relations, 1942, vol. iv, pp. 263 ff.; for text, see Department of State Bulletin, March 21, 1942, p. 249.↩
  3. Telegrams No. 29, No. 10 and despatch No. 205, not printed; for telegrams No. 390 and No. 72, see Foreign Relations, 1942, vol. iv, pp. 316 and 272, respectively.↩
  4. Signed at Washington, January 1, 1942, ibid., vol. i, p. 25.↩