121.5491/6–2146: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Iran (Allen)
us urgent most immediate
559. Would appreciate your confirmation of report in AP Tehran despatch Jun 22 that Emb had protested to Iranian Govt incident reported Tabriz 198, Jun 21,71 (repeated Tehran as 190.) Dept greatly disturbed over incident, which appears to represent endeavor by Azerbaijan to apply arbitrary totalitarian methods used by Sov forces when stationed in Iran, and feels that strong protest to Iranian Govt is called for. Iranian Govt should be requested to investigate incident, indicate what action if any is contemplated against persons involved, and what steps will be taken to prevent recurrence. These views were expressed by Dept official in conversation with Iranian Amb who promised to bring them to attention of ForMin.
Sent to Tehran, repeated to Tabriz, Moscow and London.
- Not printed; Mr. Rossow reported that the previous day the Military Attaché, the Military Attaché for Air, the Assistant Military Attaché, and a fourth member of their party were arrested and held under armed guard at the Tabriz airport for 7 hours on the pretext that they had landed without authority. The Military Attaché had been assured previously by the Iranian Foreign Office that clearance had been arranged. Despite Mr. Rossow’s “most vigorous representations”, the officers were not permitted to leave the airport until at 5 p.m. the Acting Governor General of Azerbaijan consented to bring the officers to Tabriz where they were held under armed guard at the telegraph office. Finally they were released on condition that they would depart the following day if landing permission were not granted. Mr. Rossow summed up the manner of the local officials as “hostile, disrespectful and insulting to the prestige of the United States”. The Chief of Political Police informed the Consulate on the morning of June 21 that landing permission had been granted and expressed his hope that “we would not harbor rancor” since the matter was an error of the Central Government. (121.5491/6–2146)↩