Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXXIV, Energy Diplomacy and Global Issues

221. Telegram From the Embassy in Iran to the Department of State¹

Tehran, April 23, 1968, 1005Z.

4304. Iran Oil. Ref: Tehran 4300.²

1. Referring to Tehran press morning 22d which referred to GOI “victory” in negotiations with Consortium,³ I told Saudi Ambassador same morning to tell Yamani not to get excited.

2. Without, of course, in any way getting into substance of negotiations I told Saudi that happy outcome was largely what Arabs call gali gali (slight of hand).⁴

Meyer

1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Records of the Department of State, Central Files, 1967–69, PET 6 IRAN. Confidential. Repeated to Dhahran, Jidda, Kuwait, and London.
2. Dated April 23. (Ibid.)
3. Telegram 4336 from Tehran, April 24, indicated that “EmbOff has learned from fairly reliable source that NIOC/GOI official discussed Consortium/GOI talks with wire service stringer in such a way as to intentionally encourage press services to draw strictly erroneous conclusions as to outcome these talks, i.e., Iran had obtained all it had asked from Consortium.” (Ibid.)
4. The Embassy called the resolution a “Persian solution which, by adroit placement of mirrors, gives appearance of compliance with Iranian demands.” As the Ambassador explained: “By ignoring first quarter of 1968, and counting all revenues from Consortium during Iranian year 1347 (March 21, 1968–March 20, 1969), GOI will apparently receive the $865 million it wants in revenues from the Consortium ‘this year.’” (Telegram 4270 from Tehran, April 21; ibid.)