891.20/4–1447
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. Edwin M. Wright, Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs (Henderson)
| Participants: | Mr. [Loy W.] Henderson, Director, NEA. |
| Mr. [Harold B.] Minor, Chief, MEI. | |
| General Mazhari, Assistant Chief, Iranian Military Purchasing Commission. | |
| General [Abdollah] Hedayet, Chief, Iranian Military Purchasing Commission. | |
| Mr. [Gholam] Aram, First Secretary, Iranian Embassy. | |
| Mr. Wright, NEA. |
[Here follows general discussion on the proposed credit to Iran to purchase military supplies.]
Mr. Henderson pointed out the difference between the problem in Greece and Turkey and that in Iran. In Turkey and Greece, their independence was threatened by actual civil war or by demands for territory and bases. It was therefore decided to bring these two cases before Congress at once. The mood of Congress was such that only states threatened by the Soviet at the moment could be considered. It is desirable that Iran should keep the best possible relations with the Soviet Union. At the moment there is no Soviet column operating in Iran, nor demands being made upon it. So grants can be given only to those countries under direct threat and danger. Iran, therefore, comes under the category of any nation desiring to strengthen its internal security, but not threatened from outside. It was our policy not to sell arms or munitions except to a few states who had been in intimate association with the U.S.A. Iran fell in that category and needed internal strengthening.
[Here follows further discussion on the proposed credit.]