Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXI, Near East Region; Arabian Peninsula

266. Circular Telegram From the Department of State to Certain Posts¹

Washington, May 2, 1966, 6:31 p.m.

2138. 1. NY Times reporter (Finney) at Dept noon press briefing May 2 referred to Nasser’s May 1 threat attack Saudi Arabia² and asked Dept spokesman if there exists valid agreement pursuant to which USG would come to Saudi assistance should UAR threat materialize.

2. Though no formal press statement being made, Dept replying Finney as follows:

Every U.S. Administration since that of President Truman has indicated its concern over the territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia. While we have no mutual defense treaty with Saudi Arabia or any other Near Eastern state, we remain as President Kennedy declared in his May 8, 1963, press statement, “strongly opposed to the use of force or the threat of force in the Near East”.

3. If specifically pressed by Finney regarding form US opposition would take in context Saudi-UAR conflict, Dept spokesman would say that decision in this respect would obviously have to be taken in light of circumstances at the time.

4. Jidda should inform SAG of Finney query and Dept reply soonest. Other addresses may use foregoing as appropriate.³

Rusk

1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964-66, POLSAUD-UAR. Confidential; Priority. Drafted by Korn and Atherton; cleared by Bruce Buttles (NEA/P), Special Assistant in the Bureau of Public Affairs James B. Freeman, and Officer-in-Charge of Aden, Iraq, Jordan, UAR, and Yemen Affairs in the USIA Office of Near Eastern Affairs Robert T. Curran; and approved by Davies. Sent to Jidda and repeated to Cairo, Athens for Ambassador Hare, Taiz, Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, Amman, Tel Aviv, Dhahran, CHUSTM Dhahran, CINCSTRIKE, London, Paris, and Moscow.
2. In his May 1 speech Nasser threatened that, in the event of any Saudi infiltration or aggression against Yemen, the United Arab Republic would not only strike Saudi bases of aggression, but would occupy them.
3. In telegram 1048 from Jidda, May 3, Eilts reported that Saqqaf had asked him how the U.S. Government had reacted to Nasser’s May 1 speech. The Ambassador replied that he had no official U.S. reaction, but had given Saqqaf the substance of the Department’s expected reply as reported in circular telegram 2138. (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964-66, POLSAUD-UAR) Circular telegram 2164, May 4, reported that the question of U.S. assurances to Saudi Arabia had been raised at the Department’s press briefing that day and the Department spokesman had replied along the lines of paragraph 2 of circular telegram 2138. When asked whether Kennedy’s October 25, 1962, letter to Faisal contained language which could be construed as a guarantee of Saudi territorial integrity, the spokesman had replied affirmatively. (Ibid.) For text of Kennedy’s letter, see Foreign Relations, 1961–1963, vol. XVIII, Document 88.