Office of the Historian

888.2553/8–354

No. 488
Memorandum by the Secretary of State to the President1

[Washington,] August 3, 1954.

Subject:

  • Iranian Oil Agreement
[Page 1044]

It is expected that agreement in principle between the international negotiating team and the Government of Iran will be reached soon.2

There are enclosed for your consideration:

Proposed letters of commendation to Loy W. Henderson, United States Ambassador to Iran, and Mr. Herbert Hoover, Jr., for the significant roles they have played in bringing about a solution of the Iranian oil dispute, together with a proposed message to the Shah of Iran, to be made public if Shah concurs, and a press statement expressing your gratification regarding the settlement of the oil dispute.3

It is recommended you:

1.
Sign the letters to Ambassador Henderson and Mr. Hoover, and return to me for release when the agreement is signed.
2.
Approve the message to the Shah and return to me for transmittal.
3.
Approve the press statement and hold for release when the agreement is signed.

John Foster Dulles
  1. Drafted by Gray and Richards of GTI.↩
  2. On Aug. 5, the Government of Iran and the negotiators of the International Consortium representing the eight oil companies signed the aide-mémoire to signify agreement in principle to an arrangement which would restore the flow of Iranian oil to world markets. For the text of their statement issued in Tehran on Aug. 5 announcing their agreement, see Department of State Bulletin, Aug. 16, 1954, p. 232.↩
  3. None of the enclosures is printed. According to a handwritten notation on the source text, President Eisenhower approved Secretary Dulles’ recommendations on Aug. 4. Upon the conclusion of the agreement in principle between the International Consortium and the Government of Iran, the letters to Hoover and Henderson were dispatched, as was the President’s letter to the Shah; and the press statements of Secretary Dulles and President Eisenhower were released. For texts of the President’s letter to the Shah and Dulles’ public statement, see Department of State Bulletin, Aug. 16, 1954, p. 230. The texts of the President’s letters to Hoover and Henderson and the President’s press release were attached to the record copy of this memorandum. (888.2553/8–354)↩