888.2553/12–853
No. 395
Memorandum by the Legal Adviser (Phleger)
Iranian Oil
At the Cabinet Meeting Mr. Dulles reported on the Iranian Oil situation, telling of the invitation that had been extended by [Page 850] Sir William Fraser to several American oil companies to come to London for explanatory talks looking toward a possible cooperative effort to solve the Iranian problem. He said that he was answering a letter of inquiry from Standard Oil of New Jersey1 by stating that the Department of State had no objection to the oil companies’ attending the meeting and that he had been advised that the matter had been cleared by the Department of Justice, asking the Attorney General to confirm this. The Attorney General confirmed this, stating that he thought a representative of the U.S. should attend the meetings. The Secretary replied that it was his understanding that Mr. Hoover would attend the meetings.
The letter to Standard Oil of New Jersey stating that the Department had no objection to the oil companies’ accepting the invitation included the following “on the understanding that Mr. Hoover, consultant to the Secretary, will be present at the discussions.”
- See footnote 3, supra. The Secretary’s letter was sent to Harden over the signature of Under Secretary Smith. (888.2553/12–853)↩