234. Memorandum From Julius C. Holmes of the Special State-Defense Study Group to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Rostow)1
Dear Gene:
In compliance with your request I am furnishing you hereby an account of my conversation with the Shah of Iran this morning.
The Shah received the Board of Governors of the Iranian-American Society of which I am a member. As this short reception was terminating the Shah asked me to stay behind as he wanted to have a word with me. He went straight to the point and said that he had had reports that I had been engaged in a Middle East study and that it included a recommendation for a naval force in the Indian Ocean. The Shah did not indicate the source of his information.
I replied that in fact I had been engaged in a long range policy study for the entire area of the Middle East and that the study included a recommendation that the establishment of such a force be examined as to feasibility, cost, etc. I reminded the Shah of the several conversations we had had in 1964 prior to the visit of the Concord Squadron (I took him to the Gulf of Oman where he spent a day and night witnessing weapons displays aboard Bon Homme Richard).
The Shah said that he hoped that such a force would be established and asked what part Iran could play in it. I said that the plans as to composition etc. were not made; but that personally I assumed that if such a force were established that one of its missions would be support for U.K., U.S. and Iranian naval forces in the Persian Gulf and that again, speaking personally, I presumed that Iranian ships might take part in exercises. The Shah said that that was fine and that although, at the present moment, he had no ships capable of forming a part of such a force that he expected to in the near future and hoped that Iranian participation would be considered. He asked to be kept informed as to progress and any future decisions.
I concluded this part of our conversation by reminding the Shah again that the proposal was just that and that it had not been staffed out nor had any decisions been made.
- Source: Department of State, S/S Files: Lot 68 D 475, Visit of the Shah of Iran, August 22–24, 1967, Vol. II. Top Secret; Limited Distribution; Noforn.↩