88. Memorandum From the Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency (Waller) to Director of Central Intelligence Turner1
SUBJECT
- Soviet Attitude Toward Iran
1. I am attaching a paper2 which represents an effort to analyze the Soviet attitude and strategy toward Iran.
2. In today’s issue of Pravda,3 the Central Committee of the Soviet Union accused the United States of “crude military and political pressure” against Iran. It described the situation as one which “threatens to become one of the most serious international incidents since World War II.”
[Page 233]3. The attached paper concludes that direct military intervention in Iran by the U.S. would provoke retaliatory intervention by the USSR and create a situation potentially more damaging to U.S. policy than that which faces us now. It also concludes that Soviet tactics will, for the time being, call for support of Khomeini. The Tudeh Party will accordingly continue its popular front stance in support of Khomeini.
- Source: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of the Director of Central Intelligence, Job 81M00919R: Executive Registry Subject Files (1976–1979), Box 14, Folder 12: C–372. Secret. Sent through Carlucci.↩
- “Analysis of Soviet Position Regarding Iran,” undated; attached but not printed.↩
- Presumably a reference to the A. Petrov article; see footnote 2, Document 86.↩