861.24591/4–446: Telegram
The Ambassador in Iran (Murray) to the Secretary of State
us urgent niact
[Received 4:22 p.m.]
460. At 10:30 this morning Qavam informed us that he has reached virtual agreement with Soviet Ambassador on all points under discussion and that draft notes to be exchanged on withdrawal of troops, oil, and Azerbaijan are in process of preparation. (Communications on Azerbaijan will be merely unsigned memoranda since Prime Minister prefers keep this question on informal basis to avoid pretext for Soviet intervention.)
Qavam saw Sadchikov late last night and they prepared together text of communiqué to be issued as soon as Moscow approval obtained. Sadchikov promised to get approval by telephone, and Prime Minister thinks statement may be made public today.72 Substance of draft which we saw is:
- 1.
- Negotiations begun in Moscow have been continued Tehran and full agreement reached.
- 2.
- Soviet troops will be entirely withdrawn from Iran in 5 or 6 weeks. No conditions are attached this withdrawal.
- 3.
- An agreement for joint Irano-Soviet Oil Company will be submitted to Majlis within 7 months.
- 4.
- Azerbaijan is purely internal Iranian problem and will be settled by Iran Govt direct with inhabitants of province.73
Prime Minister said that on receipt of Moscow agreement to foregoing communiqué he would instruct Ala inform Security Council that this was in fact position of affairs and that matter could be considered settled. We suggested it would be well to make clear that question would not be considered finally settled until all Soviet troops had in fact been withdrawn. Qavam assented and said he would incorporate such statement in his telegram to Ala.
Major terms of oil deal as agreed upon in principle are:
- (1)
- Term of company to be 50 years.
- (2)
- During first 25 years control to be 51% Soviet and 49% Iranian. During second 25 years control to be on basis of equality for both Govts.
- (3)
- Territory to be covered by company’s operations is Gilan, Mazanderan, Gorgan, Northern Khorassan and that part of Azerbaijan east of line drawn southeast from junction of Irano-Soviet-Turkish frontiers along eastern side Lake Rezaieh to Miandoab (this excludes all territory directly contiguous to Turkish and Iraqi frontiers).
- (4)
- All security forces in connection company operations to be Iranian.
Azerbaijan understanding remains as stated mytels 429 [424?], March 29 and 435, April. 1.
Qavam seemed exceptionally cheerful and evidently considered solution arrived at as satisfactory, although he admitted he had had to give way on question of percentages of participation in oil company.
He said he had been much disturbed by Ala’s statements in SC yesterday, since Ambassador had gone beyond his instructions. One specific point he mentioned this connection was Ala assertion Soviets had said evacuation would be carried out without condition “if satisfactory agreements were reached on other points”. He said he had never even told Ala about this. We gathered his instructions to Ala had been to make only general statement that negotiations were being [Page 407] carried on, that conditions were not attached to troop withdrawal, and that exact subjects and character of agreements could not be announced until they had been concluded.
It was after learning of Ala’s declaration that Qavam sent for Sadchikov last night and proposed issuance of communiqué. He said Sadchikov was highly annoyed by Ala remarks, since on previous day he and Qavam had mutually agreed that both Iranian and Soviet representatives would formally assure SC troop withdrawal was unconditional (Deptel 258, March 2974 and mytel 439, April 2) and would so make unnecessary any discussion of substantive questions. Soviet Ambassador complained Qavam said one thing here and another thing through his representative New York. However Prime Minister had told him that was water over dam and had persuaded him to agree to communiqué in order remedy matters.
Sent Dept 460, repeated Moscow 147, London 95.
- The communiqué was signed by the Iranian Prime Minister and the Soviet Ambassador at 4 a.m., April 5. Written notes were exchanged the same day; texts of the exchanges dealing with the evacuation of Soviet troops and the oil accord were transmitted in telegram 485, April 9, p. 413.↩
- According to telegram 480, April 8, 10 a.m., from Tehran, the Iranian Prime Minister on April 7 informed an officer of the American Embassy that he contemplated inviting an Azerbaijani commission to enter negotiations with an Iranian commission. He also stated that the interpretation of the communiqué by press correspondents and others to mean that Iranian security forces would not be sent into Azerbaijan after Soviet withdrawal was incorrect and that gendarmes and army forces would be sent into the province in due course. (861.24591/4–846)↩
- See footnote 62, p. 397.↩