169. Memorandum From W. Howard Wriggins of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant (Rostow)1
SUBJECT
- Iran Military Sales
Attached are draft instructions for Hoopes and Meyer2 in presenting our final offer to the Shah. Vance and McNamara have cleared, but we want to be sure this reflects your understanding of the agreement reached Tuesday in the President’s presence.
In addition to outlining our positions on F–4’s and Hawks, and offering to begin detailed negotiations, this reiterates the line we took in the President’s letter:
- —U.S. considers its Iranian relationship important (sending Hoopes underscores this).
- —We want Shah to understand fully that our procedures and prices are not discriminatory (Hoopes will explain).
- —Our offer to sell F–4’s and missiles conditional until Iran clarifies its position on buying from the USSR.
- —We consider our annual economic-military review important and will take into account the effect of Iran’s third-country purchases in determining later credits.
This is a fair statement of where we have come out. Since we can’t meet all the Shah’s requests, this states our limits while relying on Hoopes to make them as palatable as possible.
This looks O.K.3
See me
- Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Iran, Memos & Miscellaneous, Vol. II, 1/66–1/69. Secret.↩
- See Document 170.↩
- The options are handwritten and the first one is checked.↩