369. Letter From the Director of the Office of Greek, Turkish, and Iranian Affairs (Jones) to the Ambassador in Iran (Chapin)1
Dear Mr. Ambassador: I would like to give you a few words of background to our Deptel 8642 on the Ebtehaj–Eximbank–IBRD negotiations. The Eximbank position has not been quite as simple as that set forth in the cable, i.e., that of either the IBRD accepting a negative pledge like Eximbank’s or the Exim being given a positive pledge like IBRD’s. It appears that, just before Deptel 864 was sent, Ambassador Amini, with Mr. Black’s help, finally came up with a suggestion that went a long way toward meeting the second of Eximbank’s alternatives. At the very least, a basis for negotiation and further discussion seemed still to exist. Eximbank continued, however, to be very pessimistic on the prospects of working out a satisfactory formula.
It is the consensus here that the root of the trouble lies in the long rivalry between the Eximbank and the IBRD on the one hand, and the bad relations between the Eximbank and Ebtehaj on the other. Now that the Exim is in Iran, it would probably prefer to have all this business itself. The difficulties with Ebtehaj have perhaps obscured that basic fact and probably the immediate reason why Eximbank [Page 854] would prefer not to go along on any basis. At the present time, it would mean that Ebtehaj would be the central figure in administering the Eximbank and IBRD credits, a prospect that the Exim quite understandably does not relish. [4 lines of source text not declassified]
[1 paragraph (17 lines of source text) not declassified]
A final word on where we go from here on the Ebtehaj–Eximbank–IBRD negotiations: We understand IBRD is all ready to go but only with a positive pledge. I personally believe that a formula can eventually be found to satisfy Exim–providing patience is exercised and the need for time is recognized. There is no disposition here to push Exim on this matter.
Sincerely yours,