891.00/12–1745
The Chief of the Division of Middle Eastern Affairs (Minor) to the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs (Henderson)
Dear Loy: … When it is all boiled down it seems to me that the Iranians will find it difficult, if not impossible, ever to re-establish the status quo ante. Colonel Schwarzkopf and many others believe that the Iranian army is a broken reed. Iranian morale is shattered and it would not take much to send the government along the rocky road to appeasement, which opens wide before them. Bayat’s action in fleeing from Tabriz is typical. Also typical is the Prime Minister’s statement that he and the Foreign Minister would be glad to go to Moscow if invited. Almost everyone expresses the view that Iran’s only hope now lies in the United States. It is becoming ever more common to hear people say that the British are not interested in saving Iran, but are merely desirous of protecting their interests in the South.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .