891.00/11–2745
The Appointed Iranian Ambassador (Ala) to the Secretary of State 74
Sir: The Department of State informed me yesterday morning that a note had been addressed by Your Excellency to the Soviet Government, on November 24, concerning the situation in Iran. Later in the day I received copies of the communication in question which impressed me as being couched in appropriate and forceful language.
[Page 460]I hasten to thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your good offices and valuable cooperation at a critical juncture in the destinies of my country. The friendly manner in which you have taken into consideration the representations I had the honor of making to you on November 19th and 21st,75 regarding the anxious situation created in Iran by the armed revolt and violence of a so-called “Democratic party”, encouraged by disruptive extraneous elements and emboldened by the presence of foreign forces, is very highly appreciated. Indeed I am convinced that all liberty and peace-loving nations are grateful to you, for they see in your statesmanlike action a determination on the part of the United States to uphold the high principles for which they entered the war and to exercise their leadership for justice and for peace.
In connection with the first paragraph of Your Excellency’s note, in which reference is made to the refusal of the Soviet military commanders to permit the armed forces of my Government to carry out their responsibility in the maintenance of peace and order in Iranian territory, I have received the text of a further protest addressed on this subject by the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Soviet Embassy on November 23rd.76 In this note it is alleged that whilst the Persian detachment is held up near Kazvin, the wave of lawlessness is daily increasing in strength in Azerbaijan and spreading to Zandjan, where on the 21st of November, some unknown individuals who had received firearms were proceeding to create trouble on the same lines as at Mianeh. The Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs earnestly requested the Soviet Embassy to take urgent steps for the removal of obstacles placed in the way of the Persian reinforcements reaching their destination. We have since heard that Zandjan has been occupied and that the insurgents are rapidly marching on Teheran, where the situation appears to be critical.
In another communication of the same date, the Minister for Foreign Affairs77 draws the attention of the Soviet Embassy to the fact that in spite of the official Soviet announcement that Teheran had been evacuated, elements of the Red Army were constantly coming and going; in some centers of Teheran where Soviet forces are assembled they continued their activities as in the past. Moreover, individuals in civil dress riding on Soviet lorries come to Teheran and leave the city at intervals. The Soviet authorities are asked to issue immediate instructions for the complete withdrawal of Red Army troops from Teheran and its suburbs pending the evacuation of the whole of Iran.
[Page 461]The continued presence of Soviet military elements in the Capital in conjunction with the rapid advance of the armed “Democrats” and the inability of Government forces to deal with the agitators, owing to Red Army opposition, has created a very tense situation in Teheran.
Firmly convinced that Your Excellency will continue to watch the situation closely and exercise your influence in the interests of appeasement and security, which can only be brought about by the immediate simultaneous withdrawal of Soviet and British forces from Iran, I have the honor to renew the expression of my highest consideration.
[On November 29, Hussein Ala presented his letters of credence to President Truman and stated: “It is the confident expectation of Iran that the Declaration of Teheran will be implemented and her territory completely evacuated by the occupying foreign forces whose continued presence within the borders of an Allied country has no justification.” (Department of State Press Release 896, November 29, 1945). Mr. Ala also made various additional remarks to President Truman which analyzed the nature of the Soviet menace to Iran, somewhat along the lines of note 2313, and expressed the high appreciation of his country for the American note of November 24 to the Soviet Foreign Office. He concluded by stating: “In this critical situation, I earnestly beg you, Mr. President, to continue to stand up for the rights of Iran, whose independence and integrity are being trampled underfoot. Your country alone can save us, for you have always defended moral ideas and principle and your hands are clean. I know you will not shirk your responsibility to the world. The only solution to the problem is the one you have suggested, i.e., immediate and simultaneous withdrawal of Soviet and British forces from Iran and insistence on allowing Iran to have a free hand in her own territory. Another way of helping Iran, is to support her candidature for a seat on the Security Council. This will strengthen her hands in the efforts she is making to uphold her independence and integrity.” (701.9111/11–3045) At this time, Mr. Ala handed to President Truman a letter of September 10 addressed to him by the Shah; for text, see page 405.]
- Handed to the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs on November 28, 1945.↩
- There is no evidence in Department files that memoranda covering these conversations were prepared. For an account of the conversation on November 19, see the New York Times, November 20, 1945, p. 1, col. 4.↩
- See also telegram 996, November 25, 10 a.m., from Tehran, p. 453.↩
- Abol Ghasem Nadjm.↩