891.6363/7–2547: Telegram
The Ambassador in Iran (Allen) to the Secretary of State
675. Qavam has recently expressed the view to the Shah that Iranian Government should prepare counter-proposals in connection with Soviet oil agreement. The Shah dislikes the idea and wants the Iranian Government merely to refuse the existing proposals and leave the entire initiative to Soviets to make new ones if they wish. Shah is afraid that Soviets might accept any counterproposals Qavam draws up no matter how favorable to Iran the provisions may appear, in order to get a toe in the door, or perhaps to hold the concession without developing it in order to keep the area from being developed by Iranians themselves or by anyone else. Shah says he has retained Qavam as Prime Minister for past six or eight months in spite of several good opportunities to get rid of him, merely because of Qavam’s solemn assurances of a firm intention to refuse any Soviet oil agreement. Now that Majlis is in session the Shah will find it more difficult constitutionally to dismiss the Prime Minister. Shah thinks Qavam is taking advantage of this fact to carry out a policy he may have favored all along, of giving the Russians some kind of oil concession.
When Shah objected to Qavam’s suggestion the latter attempted to justify his point of view by saying that I had been unable to give him any categorical assurance of prompt and effective American support if Iran got into difficulties with the USSR on oil. When the Shah reported this to me, I remarked that occasions arise when small states are called on to take necessary measures to defend their essential rights regardless of assurances trusting in world support for their just grievances but defending their essential interests even in the absence of airtight guarantees of help.