Office of the Historian

861.24591/3–346: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Iran (Murray)92

secret
us urgent   niact
Washington, March 3, 1946—2 p.m.

165. For the Ambassador. Iranian Ambassador told Department evening March 2 that he would appreciate it if we would register immediate protest to Soviet Government for its failure to withdraw troops from Iran on March 2 in accordance with treaty obligations. He said that he was acting without instructions but was sure, from his knowledge of basic policies of Iran, that the Shah and his Government would approve his suggestion and that he had already telegraphed the Shah and his Government on the subject.

We told him that we had as yet no report to the effect that the Shah or any responsible member of the Government had made it clear that Soviet decision to retain troops beyond March 2 had been taken without the approval or consent of the Iranian Government. Any representations which this Government might make, therefore, in the circumstances might be lacking in effectiveness, since they could be based only upon an assumption, not upon definite knowledge, that retention of Soviet forces was without the consent of the Iranian Government.93

British Embassy has submitted to Department94 draft of a note of protest which British Government is proposing to present to the Soviet Government. This protest is based upon Soviet violation of the Tripartite Treaty to which Great Britain is a party. It seems to us that the only basis on which we could make a protest would be the violation by the Soviet Union of the territorial integrity of Iran. If Iranian Government has assented to retention of Soviet troops in Iranian territory it would be difficult for us to substantiate a charge of this nature, unless we were in possession of strong evidence of duress.

Byrnes
  1. This telegram was repeated to Moscow as No. 366 and to London as No. 1951.↩
  2. In a conversation with the Secretary of State on March 4, the Iranian Ambassador made a further request for U.S. representations to the Soviet Union concerning the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Iran. The Secretary said that he was interested in knowing the attitude of the Iranian Government in this matter and he hoped the Ambassador would communicate with him when he received a message (761.91/3–446).↩
  3. On March 2.↩