269. Editorial Note
At the 397th Meeting of the National Security Council, February 26, Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles gave the Council his briefing on “Significant World Developments Affecting U.S. Security.” According to a memorandum of the discussion prepared by Gleason on February 26, Dulles provided the following information on Iran-Soviet relations:
“Mr. Allen Dulles then turned to the situation in Iran, briefly reviewing the background of the recent negotiations between Iran and the Soviet Union for a non-aggression pact. Since the abrupt breakdown of these negotiations, there was ample evidence that Mr. Khrushchev and his associates were very much annoyed with the Shah. Khrushchev’s remarks in his February 24 speech on Iran had been ad libbed and were extremely insulting to the Shah personally. Mr. Dulles warned that we must expect further reaction from the Russians noting in this connection that the Soviets had planted rumors that the province of Azarbaijan would be occupied by Soviet troops if Iran proceeded to sign its bilateral agreement with the U.S. Both the Iranians and ourselves regard this threat as a bluff. Nevertheless, the Soviets can do quite a lot in terms of raising the level of subversive activity in Iran. Mr. Dulles doubted, however, whether for the present the Shah could be overthrown by such Soviet maneuvers.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records)