278. Summary of Conclusions of a Policy Review Committee Meeting1

SUBJECT

  • PRC Meeting on Iran

PARTICIPANTS

  • State

    • Acting Secretary Warren Christopher
    • David Newsom, Under Secretary for Political Affairs
    • Harold Saunders, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs
    • Anthony Lake, Director, Policy Planning Staff
  • Treasury

    • Deputy Secretary Robert Carswell
  • Defense

    • Deputy Secretary W. Graham Claytor, Jr.
    • Robert Komer, Under Secretary for Policy
  • Justice

    • John Shenefield, Associate Attorney General
  • Joint Chiefs of Staff

    • Lt. General John Pustay, Assistant to the Chairman
  • Central Intelligence Agency

    • Admiral Stansfield Turner, Director
    • Frank Carlucci, Deputy Director
  • White House

    • Zbigniew Brzezinski
    • Hedley Donovan
    • Lloyd Cutler
    • Henry Owen
    • Jody Powell
  • National Security Council

    • Gary Sick

SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS

1. Diplomatic Strategy for Iran. The Department of State presented a draft recommendation to the President outlining a diplomatic strategy (Tab A).2 This strategy is designed to keep lines open to Bani-Sadr and Ghotbzadeh without offering any further concessions, while encouraging the Europeans to persuade the clerics that it is in their interest to find a resolution to the hostage issue. The SCC concurred with this recommendation, recognizing that the chances of successfully persuading the Iranian authorities to release the hostages are very slim. (S)

Approve the strategy outlined at Tab A.3

Other

[2 paragraphs (33 lines) not declassified]

[Omitted here is material on Libya.]

  1. Source: Carter Library, Plains File, Box 10. Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the White House Situation Room. Cleared by Sick.
  2. Attached, printed as Document 279.
  3. Carter approved this option with a checkmark and wrote in the right margin: “See notes.” Reference is to the handwritten notes Carter made on the draft recommendation. See Document 279.