891.00/3–2949
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs (Satterthwaite) to the Secretary of State
Subject: Proposed Reply to Personal Letter from Ambassador John C. Wiley.
Background:
In his letter to you of March 29 (attached Tab A)1 Ambassador Wiley emphasizes the Russian desire to dominate Iran and his fear that the Soviets will succeed, at least to the extent of taking over Azerbaijan. He also refers to his efforts to get the Iranian Government to make a communication to the Security Council describing recent Russian pressures on Iran and denying the right of the Soviet [Page 517] Union to introduce troops into Iran under the authority of Article VI of the Irano-Soviet Treaty of 1921 (he refers to this suggested action as the “Ala-Entezam proposal”).
In his telegrams and other communications to the Department, Ambassador Wiley has repeatedly expressed the opinion that a Soviet move into Iran is only a question of time, that the problem is not one of “if” but “when”. We have the impression that he has communicated this sense of impending doom to the Iranian officials with whom he is in contact. We also have the impression that he has been urging the “Ala-Entezam proposal” on the Iranian Government so insistently that at least some officials, including the Shah, have begun to feel that we have an ulterior motive and are pursuing the matter more for our own interests than those of Iran.
Discussion:
Our own feeling is that a Soviet invasion of Iran is not inevitable and that there are dangers in alarming the Iranians unduly in this regard. So long as we are unwilling to give Iran an outright guarantee, we believe we should be wary of so frightening the Iranians that they might in desperation seek to appease the U.S.S.R.
We think Ambassador Wiley’s letter to you affords an opportunity to give him a polite indication of the ways in which our viewpoint seems to differ from his own and the attached draft has been prepared with that in mind.
Recommendation:
That you sign the attached letter to Ambassador Wiley (Tab B).2
There is attached a recent despatch from Mr. Wiley which I suggest you read to brighten up your day (Tab C)3