740.00119 Council/2–147
The Acting Secretary of State to the Iranian Ambassador (Ala)64
The Acting Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Ambassador of Iran and has the honor to refer to his letter No. 2127 of February 1, 194765 transmitting the request of the Iranian Government to participate in preliminary discussions of the peace treaty with Germany and to ascertain the procedure by which the Iranian Government and its nationals might obtain redress for damages attributable to and claims against Germany.
The Council of Foreign Ministers at its meeting in New York during December, 1946 found it necessary to limit participation in the preliminary discussions of the German peace treaty to neighboring Allied states and to those Allied states which directly participated with armed forces in the common struggle against Germany. Subsequently, the Foreign Ministers’ Deputies during their recent meeting [Page 492] in London considered the requests of certain states, including Iran, which did not come within the categories indicated above but which had expressed their desire to participate, and agreed to refer those requests to the Council of Foreign Ministers at its meeting in Moscow.
This Government has consistently favored as wide a participation as possible by interested powers in discussions concerning the peace treaty with Germany. The Department of State is particularly conscious of the assurances contained in the note delivered by the United States Minister to the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs on September 3, 194366 and in the letter of the Secretary of State to His Excellency on July 30, 1946,67 with regard to the attitude of the United States in respect to Iran’s participation in the peace settlements with Germany and Japan. While the Council of Foreign Ministers and their Deputies have engaged in preliminary conversations pertaining to the peace settlement, the question of holding a peace conference has not yet been decided. The Government of the United States agrees that Iran should be allowed to participate in the making of the treaties for Germany and Japan. The United States will make its position in this respect known to the other powers represented on the Council of Foreign Ministers in Moscow, but the final decision will depend upon the agreement not of the United States alone, but of all the powers represented on the Council.
With regard to the procedure by which the Iranian Government and its nationals might obtain redress for damages attributable to and claims against Germany, the attention of the Iranian Government is invited to Section IV of the Protocol signed by the heads of the Governments of the United States, United Kingdom, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on August 1, 1945, a copy of which is attached hereto as Annex A.68 Accordingly, the Government of the United States, being one of the three powers with zones of occupation in western Germany, is prepared to consider the question of claims of the Iranian Government and its nationals against Germany. In order to give proper consideration to this question and to arrive at an equitable settlement, it is necessary that the Iranian Government submit a statement of claims and losses of the Government or its nationals against Germany and a statement of German external assets subject to its jurisdiction. There is attached hereto, as Annex B,69 a statement which was employed in determining the reparation share of the United [Page 493] Nations entitled to receive reparation from the western zones of Germany and from German external assets in those countries which remained neutral during the war. It is requested that the Iranian Government’s statement of damages and claims be made on the basis of Annex B. There is also attached hereto, as Annex C,69a a statement of information requested from the same group of countries concerning German external assets subject to their jurisdiction immediately before the date of the entry of the respective countries into the war or their occupation by the enemy. It is requested that the Iranian Government submit, in approximately the form suggested in Annex C, full information concerning German external assets subject to its jurisdiction. Upon receipt of the requested information, the Government of the United States, in conjunction with the Governments of France and the United Kingdom, will give immediate consideration to the request of the Iranian Government for settlement of its claims against Germany.
- The text of this note was transmitted to Tehran in telegram 126, March 17, 1947, which added that a similar reply was being sent to Iran by the United Kingdom and that France was considering the Iranian request and the United States reply (740.0011 EW (Peace)/2–347).↩
- Not printed, but see telegram 87, February 3, from Tehran, p. 20.↩
- For the text of the note under reference here, see telegram 438, August 26, 1943, to Tehran, Foreign Relations, 1943, vol. iv, p. 435.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Annex A is not printed here. For the text of the Report on the Tripartite Conference of Berlin, under reference here, see Foreign Relations, The Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference), 1945, vol. ii, pp. 1499 ff.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Not printed.↩