Dulles Sends Draft Letters For Eisenhower To Sign
| Arash Norouzi |
Just prior to the finalization of Iran Oil Consortium Agreement on August 5, 1954, Sec. of State John Foster Dulles sent the following message to Pres. Eisenhower with three attached draft letters and a press statement.
Ike approved and signed the letters, but as the press statement is nowhere to be found, it appears that it was never released after all. To read the Aug. 5th letters:
• Eisenhower Praises Herbert Hoover, Jr. For Oil Settlement
• Eisenhower Commends Loy Henderson On Iran Consortium
• Eisenhower and the Shah Trade Compliments After Iran Oil Deal
888.2553/8–354
No. 488
Memorandum by the Secretary of State to the President1 [John Foster Dulles to Dwight D. Eisenhower]
[WASHINGTON,] August 3, 1954
Subject:
Iranian Oil Agreement
It is expected that agreement in principle between the international negotiating team and the Government of Iran will be reached soon.2
There are enclosed for your consideration:
Proposed letters of commendation to Loy W. Henderson, United States Ambassador to Iran, and Mr. Herbert Hoover, Jr., for the significant roles they have played in bringing about a solution of the Iranian oil dispute, together with a proposed message to the Shah of Iran, to be made public if Shah concurs, and a press statement expressing your gratification regarding the settlement of the oil dispute.3
It is recommended you:
1. Sign the letters to Ambassador Henderson and Mr. Hoover, and return to me for release when the agreement is signed.
2. Approve the message to the Shah and return to me for transmittal.
3. Approve the press statement and hold for release when the agreement is signed. [The statement was apparently never released]
JOHN FOSTER DULLES
• [Annotations by Arash Norouzi]
• Source: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Iran, 1951–1954, Volume X (1989)
1 “Drafted by Gray and Richards of GTI.” — State Department Office of the Historian. This refers to Office of Greek, Turkish, and Iranian Affairs staff member Helen P. Gray and Director Arthur L. Richards.
2 “On Aug. 5, the Government of Iran and the negotiators of the International Consortium representing the eight oil companies signed the aide-mémoire to signify agreement in principle to an arrangement which would restore the flow of Iranian oil to world markets. For the text of their statement issued in Tehran on Aug. 5 announcing their agreement, see Department of State Bulletin, Aug. 16, 1954, p. 232.” — State Department Office of the Historian
3 “None of the enclosures is printed. According to a handwritten notation on the source text, President Eisenhower approved Secretary Dulles’ recommendations on Aug. 4. Upon the conclusion of the agreement in principle between the International Consortium and the Government of Iran, the letters to Hoover and Henderson were dispatched, as was the President’s letter to the Shah; and the press statements of Secretary Dulles and President Eisenhower were released. For texts of the President’s letter to the Shah and Dulles’ public statement, see Department of State Bulletin, Aug. 16, 1954, p. 230. The texts of the President’s letters to Hoover and Henderson and the President’s press release were attached to the record copy of this memorandum. (888.2553/8–354)” — State Department Office of the Historian
Related links:
The Iranian Situation: Allen Dulles to President Eisenhower | CIA (March 1, 1953)
Paid In Sterling: Text of Joint British-Iranian Statement (August 5, 1954)
Sec. Dulles Congratulates Abdollah Entezam, Premier Zahedi on Iran Oil Deal (Aug. 1954)
MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”
