Ask the Scholar

{
    "localId": "218719608",
    "label": "Memorandum from Secretary of State Dean Acheson to President Harry S. Truman, with Attachments",
    "core": "doc",
    "dtoType": "document",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/218719608"
}

{
    "id": "218719608",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/218719608",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Memorandum from Secretary of State Dean Acheson to President Harry S. Truman, with Attachments",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/218719608",
    "collections": [
        "President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
        "Subject Files"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Anglo-Iranian Oil Dispute, 1951-1954"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750307/750307-82-001.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750307/750307-82-001.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750307/750307-82-001.jpg",
    "imageCount": 9,
    "hasImages": true,
    "source": "import",
    "hasTranscription": false
}

{
    "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/218719608",
    "naId": 218719608,
    "levelOfDescription": "item",
    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 22,
            "logicalDate": "1951-10-22",
            "month": 10,
            "year": 1951
        }
    ],
    "recordType": "description",
    "ocrSource": "nara-archive"
}

{
    "seq": 5,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750307/750307-82-005.jpg",
    "mediaId": "306e9117d8fd550a",
    "ocrText": "- 4 -\nfailure to reach an agreement even on interim measures resulted in\ncessation of shipments from Abadan. The British staff had been reduced\nto some 350 technical personnel. The situation was aggravated by British\nclaims of mistreatment of their personnel in South Iran. British warships\nhad been ordered to stand by near Abadan, and troops were alerted in the\nNear East area for possible action in Iran if the S ituation required it.\nOn September 12, Dr. Mosadeq set forth in a letter to Mr. Harriman\nproposals for the resumption of negotiations with the British and\nindicated that failure by the British to begin talks within 15 days would\ncompel the Iranian Government to expel the technicians remaining at\nAbadan. Mr. Harriman declined to pass the message on to the British as\nrequested by Dr. Mosadeq, and set forth the reasons why he felt the\nproposals could not form the basis for the resumption of negotiations.\nIn the latter part of September, Dr. Mosadeq, through the Iranian\nPalace, submitted slightly amended proposals directly to the British\nwithout, however, including an ultimatum. These were summarily rejected\nby the British, and on September 25 the Iranian Government ordered the\nremaining technicians to depart not later than October 4.\nAt this point the British Government decided to take the matter to\nthe Security Council. It also decided that the British technicians could\nnot be retained in Iran and ordered their removal before the effective\ndate of the Iranian expulsion order.\nOn October 2, the Security Council agreed to include the British\ncomplaint on its agenda, but postponed consideration of the item in\norder to provide time for Prime Minister Mosadeq, who opposed any Security\nCouncil action on the grounds that it did not have competence, to come to\nNew York to represent Iran before the Council. The debate was begun on\nOctober 15, with sharp statements by the British and Iranian delegations.\nIn the course of the Council's deliberations the British, urged by\nthe United States delegation, modified their original resolution making\nit far more conciliatory in tone. At the Council's meeting on October 19,\nhowever, it was clear that the British did not have the required seven\nvotes for the amended resolution. The British delegation therefore\ndecided to accept a French proposal that the Council's consideration of\nthe matter be adjourned until the International Court of Justice had\nrendered a decision upon the question of its own competence in the dispute,\nsince such finding would have a bearing upon the question of the Council's\ncompetence. This proposal was accepted by the Council.\nThe United States position in the Council has been to support\nthe British upon the question of competence, and to support a resolution\nwhich called upon the parties to resume negotiations. In so doing, this\nnecessarily placed us in opposition to the Iranian delegation and has been\nresented\na by ENNATIONAL ANACOROS SERVICE\""
}