Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson and Ambassador of Great Britain Sir Oliver Franks

438 DEPARTMENT OF STATE TOP SECRET Memorandum of Conversation 251 DATE: August 20, 1951 SUBJECT: Corf PARTICIPANTS: The British Ambassador The Secretary DECLASSIFIED STATE DEPT. MEMO p.1.fy COPIES TO: Project NLT 82.4 TRUMAN By NLT- He NARS, Date 9-5-dy S. ARCHIVES "NATIONAL SERVICE" RECORDS ANO s 1-1493 After discussing with me the subjects which Mr. Ferguson has covered in his memorandum and the subject which Mr. Chase has covered in his, the British Ambassador when alone with me mentioned the following: First, he had received while in the rcom with me from his Embassy a cable regarding the Export-Import Bank loan to Iran. This cable expressed/ the British at the statements which Mr. Grady concern and Mr. Harriman were authorized to make. I told the Ambassador that I thought the British were unduly concerned about this, that it would be most unwise for us to withdraw the loan and on the other hand it would be most unwise to accept it, and that the authorized statements seemed to me the best intermediate position which could be devised. He said he would put the cable into the Department through regular channels and that I need not consider it until it came to me in due course. Secondly, he talked generally about the British and American attitudes towards nationalism in the Middle East, with particular reference to the Egyptian situation. He thought both attitudes had good points and weak points. He thought that we were right in TOP SECRET