Washington (AP)—The State Department is trying out a new kind of envoy to Iran—American bulls.

The milk problem has been worrying some Iranians almost as much as the oil problem has been worrying Premier Mossadegh. Iranian dairy herds are run down because of inbreeding. Milk has been getting scarcer and thinner.

When the United States started its Point Four program to give economic help to underdeveloped countries, the dairy folk in Iran asked for Swiss bulls—a pure bred strain that flourishes in the United States as well as Switzerland.

The State Department’s Technical Cooperation Administration (TCA) sent five of them.

Two of the bulls are assigned to the Caspian Sea area not many pastures away from the Soviet border. One works in Hamadan, in Western Iran. The other two got other assignments.

The plan is to use artificial insemination by which the five can become the sires of thousands of calves. If all goes well, more bulls will be sent.

The Iranians wanted Swiss bulls because that breed has been found good for Iran in the past. They are dark brown in color, usually large and hardy, and thrifty feeders. They are heat-resistant. And they can be used as both beef and dairy cattle.