Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, The Near East and Africa, Volume V

Report on an Address by the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs (Henderson)

October 3, 1947

U.S. Support for Iranian Development Pledged¹

The United States will continue to provide assistance, within the framework of the United Nations Charter, to Iran in its social and economic development, Loy W. Henderson, director of the State Department’s Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs, declared Wednesday night [October 1], in New York.

He emphasized that while the United States will not interfere with the internal affairs of Iran, it will seek to strengthen “mutually beneficial” economic relations with that country.

In address given at a banquet of the Iran-American Merchants Association in honor of Iranian Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, Mr. Henderson said it is in national interests of the United States and Iran “that all avenues between their peoples be open to friendly interchange and that the political security of both countries have a firm foundation in the economic well-being of their peoples, as of free peoples everywhere.”

Mr. Henderson lauded efforts of Iranian ruler Shah Abbas to resolve national differences within the Persian Empire and “guide efforts of a united people in a notable renaissance.” He recalled that during World War II, the Iranian Government drew up plans for long-range program of social and economic development and said that negotiation has been initiated for providing necessary foreign financial assistance for their execution.

He added:

“A necessary condition for the success of Iran’s forward-looking economic program is not only the availability of foreign assistance when requested but the absence of foreign interference in the internal affairs of Iran. The United States has not and will not interfere in the internal affairs of Iran. The United States has in the past and will in the future give to Iran, upon its request, all appropriate assistance within the spirit of the United Nations Charter.

“Given a well-conceived program, foreign assistance as needed and requested, and freedom from interference, Iran under progressive leadership might well be expected to encourage by every possible means popular participation in, and country-wide benefit from, its efforts to raise the Iranian standard of living, not only in the urban centers but also in the rural and tribal districts which represent the back-bone of the nation’s economy.”

1. Reprinted from Department of State Wireless Bulletin, October 3, 1947, p. 3.