96. Memorandum for the Record by Secretary of State Acheson1
Meeting with the President
1. The Iranian Situation
I described to the President the crisis which has developed in Iran over the weekend, in which the vacillation of the Shah, his refusal to give Qavam authority to dissolve the Majlis and restore order has led to various attempts by Qavam to resign to the spreading of disorder in Tehran, the joining of forces by the National Front and the Tudeh Party—in short the general disintegration of authority in Iran.
I said that Ambassador Henderson had been doing everything that was possible. He and the British Ambassador had joined in recommending that we offer financial assistance to Qavam. We have a plan ready to lay before the President and may do so later in the day, depending upon whether the latest information says that there is a government to which we can extend help.
- Source: Truman Library, Acheson Papers, Memoranda of Conversations, Box 71, July 1952. No classification marking.↩