Statement Released by the Department of State on May 28, 19481
A subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, under the chairmanship of Senator Styles Bridges, on May 28 opened hearings on a request by the President, on the recommendation of the Secretary of State, for a supplemental appropriation for the care, handling, and disposal of surplus property abroad. The requested appropriation was for $19,155,000, of which $15,675,000 is designed to cover the cost of repairing, packaging, and shipping surplus military equipment to be sold to Iran.
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The objective of the Iran Government in seeking these supplies … has been to re-equip the Iranian Army and gendarmerie in order to maintain internal security in Iran. The equipment of both forces is at present below standard because they have been unable to obtain adequate replacements since the outbreak of World War II. In the light of the declaration of Tehran of December 1, 1943, in which the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union declared their desire for the maintenance of the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iran, and in view of the interest of the United States in the maintenance of security in the Middle East, the Department of State considers it in the interest of the United States as well as of Iran to meet the request of the Iranian Government.
- Reprinted from Department of State Bulletin, June 13, 1948, p. 780.↩