68-2795 HERA VI, Mehdi, 1940- CERTAIN ASPECTS OF UNITED STATES-IRANIAN RELATIONS 1883-1945. The American University, Ph.D., 1967 Political Science, international law and relations University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan (S Copyright by Mehdf Heravl 1968 CERTAIN ASPECTS OF UNITED STATES-IRANIAN RELATIONS 1883-1945 by Mehdi Heravi Submitted to the Faculty of the School of International Service of the American University In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Area Studies Signatures of Committee: Chairman: fjjt \ /f• Date: \r~ Dean of the School Date AMERICAN UKIVEHSITY 2 s V j6 7 36SS PREFACE This dissertation is written with the hope of presenting in a clear and concise manner the development of American-Iranian relations from the establishment of the American legation at Tehran in 1883 until the end of the Second World War. The author's intention is to study the historical factors and evaluate the foreign policy of the United States in regard to Iran. Once the historical factors have been presented, a study will be made of the different periods of relations between the two countries. It is hoped that the readers will be provided some useful information which as nearly as possible has been stated objectively. During the preparation of this dissertation I had the benefit of working with a Doctoral Committee composed of members with a profound knowledge of the subject. I gratefully acknowledge the supervision and useful suggestions of Dr. Harry N. Howard, Chairman of the Committee. I owe a very special debt to Dr. Kerim Key who offered much support. I am grateful to Dr. Halford L. Hoskins for the special attention and advice he has given me. My thanks and kind regards are also due to the Honorable Loy W. Henderson, the former United States Ambassador to Iran, whose first-hand knowledge and comments were most helpful. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Milton R.. Merrill, Dr. M. Judd Harmon, Dr. JeDon Emenhiser, Professor W. B. Anderson and Professor P. S. Spoerry, all of whom are at Utah State University, where I studied. I am also indebted to my parents for their encouragement throughout my education. Mehdi Heravi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Preface i I. THE FOUNDATIONS OF IRANIAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS..............1 II. THE CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION AND THE AMERICAN ATTITUDE . 8 III. ANGLO-RUSSIAN RIVALRY AND THE SHUSTER MISSION............... 20 IV. INTERNATIONAL POLITICS IN IRAN: RUSSIA, GREAT BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES............... .................... 33 V. THE SECOND AND THE THIRD AMERICAN M I S S I O N S ................. 55 VI. THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND IRAN ................77 VII. THE UNITED STATES IN IRAN: WORLD WAR I I ................... 99 VIII. POST WAR ERA RELATIONS AND CONCLUSION................... 124 Selected Bibliography A. Primary S o u r c e s .......................................... 137 B. Secondary Sources ......................................... 140 Appendix A. Irano-American Agreement 1856 146 B. The American Missionaries in I r a n .......................... 153 C. Terms of the Anglo-Russian Convention............. 154 D. Shuster's Open Letter to the London Ti m e s ....................159 CHAPTER I THE FOUNDATIONS OF IRANIAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS Before the seventeenth century, Iran had little contact with the western world. She knew only one culture--the Persian culture. The Arabs invaded Persia in the seventh century, and Islam was adopted as the official religion of the country. Therefore, the education of Iran was based primarily on the Moslem holy book, the Koran. Moslem religious leaders were the teachers for many centuries. They taught in Maktabs and the students were required to memorize the holy Koran. There were also several Moslem theological seminaries, ,or religious colleges, where advanced students could discuss many aspects of Islam and try to interpret the Koran. Some contact with the European nations was established in the early part of the seventeenth century. From this time on an incentive grew in the Iranian mind for foreign ideas, languages, customs, systems of education, etc. The Iranians showed an interest in Europe and were consequently, influenced by her. However, the most drastic change in the Iranian mind and attitude was brought about by the establishment of the first American missionary school- in 1835. The school was operated by the American Presbyterian Mission and was attended primarily by Iranian Armenians and Assyrians. Also, the first official school for girls, which was established by the American missionaries, greatly improved the social standards of Iran. The Presbyterians were also engaged in medical and hospital work, and when the Iranian Government realized the tremendous medical service rendered by the American missionaires, it permitted Dr. W. W. Torrence, a missionary physician, to supervise the building of a hospital in Tehran. As planned, this hospital was to accommodate about one hundred patients. The architect was Mr. Ernest Turner, an English­ man, who had long experience in this line of work. Dr. Torrence was. the manager of the hospital because of his good reputation-among both the Iranians and the missionaries. This hospital was open to all, regardless of religious belief or nationality. The hospital was financed by Madam W. H. Ferrey of Lake Forest, 111. and the Presbyterian Board.'*' By this action we could assume that the two countries were coming closer in a primitive diplomatic sense. At this time a valid question could be raised, that is, why did the American Board of Missions establish such a program in Iran? The answer is not as complicated as one might think. Primarily, it was established to convert the Iranian people from Islam to Christianity. This was, however, an uphill battle. We could illustrate this by the attitude of a Persian Prince, Zil-i-Sultan. The Prince once attended an English Protestant chapel. Several days later a few other Persians also desired to attend a Christian church. When the Prince learned of this, he ordered the execution of the people who attended the Christian ^Foreign Relations of the U. S . 1887 (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1888), pp. 914-15. 2 service. This occurred at the beginning of the missionary work, and was a very extreme case.. But from the beginning of the missionary work in 1835, the question of protection was a very difficult one. The United States Government could not protect these American citizens in Iran since there were no relations between the two countries. Even after the establishment of formal relations, this question was not clear, especially with the 1894-96 massacres in Turkey. Mr. E. Spencer Pratt, the American Minister at Tehran, advised the State Department on August 28, 1888 that he had been informed by Mr. Abbott, the British Consul-General at Tabriz, that the Kurds in Turkey intended to cross 3 into Iran for the purpose of massacring the Christian population. This threat did not materialize, however, and the missionaries were able to live in peace and harmony until late 1895. At this time there was a fear that the disorders in Turkey might spread into Iran. The American Minister informed the State Department that the missionaries in Iran felt they "have not been in any danger, the only thing is that if next spring the Turkish troubles are not quieted /there will b£J 4 great disturbances here." S.G.W. Benjamin, Persia and the Persians, (Boston: Ticknor and Co., 1887), p. 359. 3 Foreign Relations of the U. S. 1888, Vol. 2 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1889), p. 1362. ^Foreign Relations of the U. S. 1896, (Washington, D. C. : Government Printing Office, 1897), p. 467. The American Minister, Mr. Alex McDonald, also pointed out that he had met with the Iranian Prime Minister concerning the problem and was cordially received. The Prime Minister promised to dispatch a regiment of soldiers to the Azerbaijan province in order to protect the Christians of that region."* The trouble in Turkey grew from bad to worse and it was necessary for some of the American missionaries to leave Turkey. Many requests by missionaries in Turkey concerning possible immigration reached the American Minister at Tehran. The Iranian government agreed to take these refugees. Furthermore, Iran promised "protection from the time £ they crossed the border." But the Iranian government could not protect the American missionaries beyond its borders; to do so simply would have been invasion of Turkey. The readiness of the Iranian Government to protect the missionaries and the Christians was appreciated by the American Secretary of State, Mr. Richard Olney. _ According to Mr. S.G.W. Benjamin of New York, the first American Minister to Persia, who established the United States' legation, "the most important" part of the American missionary program was "the employ­ ment of missionary physicians."^ The importance of the physicians was loc. sit. 6 Ibid., p. 469. ^Benjamin, ££. cit., p. 364. great. Even if one did not wish instruction in religion, other than his own, he might need a doctor. If the physician could be a tactful man and a good diplomat, he automatically acquired a great deal of "personal influence" in the highest offices of the country. By acquiring this influence, the opposition against his group would be naturally modified, and his missionary group could make more rapid progress than before. At the turn of the twentieth century there were over forty missionaries in Iran, the complete list appears in the Appendix. As pointed out previously, the main objective of the mission was to convert the people of Iran from Islam to Christianity. Upon discovery of the fact that this was an uphill fight, the American missionaries 8 still "never lost hope" for the regeneration of Moslem Iran. The social and intellectual gap between the Christian missionaries and the average people whom they were trying to educate and convert was a great one, since a Moslem believes that Moses was the spokesman of God, Jesus, the spirit of God and Mohammad, the prophet of God.