Office of the Historian

284. Memorandum From Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)0

Washington, June 1, 1962.

McGB:

We may be heading for another crisis in Iran. Plan Organization and 3d Plan are in a parlous state, new budget is so big that either plan will have to be postponed or big US loan needed and Shah is making noises about much bigger MAP package than we offered. Amini is fatigued and seems to have lost control of situation.

State is trying to find out if situation as bad as feared (Holmes doubts but he’s been here since Shah’s visit). And I’ve been arguing we should run scared nonetheless. A stitch in time, you know.

Meanwhile, Shah continues to recall promises we can’t track down. Latest is alleged JFK promise we’d underwrite a 2,000-man commando brigade for Tehran riot control. As I recall, JFK and Shah discussed internal security problem at dinner; President thought Shah not interested enough in this and we subsequently told Taylor to look into what more we could do. (We’re working now on a program submitted by Holmes.)

Did JFK recall promising a 500 kw transmitter?1 No one else does. Shah will just queer himself with everybody here if he keeps translating small talk into firm commitments.

RWK
  1. Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Country Series, Iran, 8/12/62– 8/31/62. Secret.↩
  2. A marginal handwritten response to this question from Bundy to Komer reads: “No. He has no recollection but he wonders how much it cost and what it’s worth.”↩