339-370/428-S/80022 FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES 1952–1954 IRAN, 1951–1954 DEPARTMENT OF STATE Washington 339-370/428-S/80022 Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954 Iran, 1951–1954 Editor James C. Van Hook General Editor Adam M. Howard United States Government Publishing Office Washington 2017 339-370/428-S/80022 DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Historian Bureau of Public Affairs For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2250 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402-0001 339-370/428-S/80022 Preface The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity of the United States Government. The Historian of the Department of State is charged with the responsibility for the preparation of the Foreign Relations series. The staff of the Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, under the direction of the General Editor of the Foreign Relations series, plans, researches, selects, and edits the volumes in the series. Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg first promulgated official regulations codifying specific standards for the selection and editing of documents for the series on March 26, 1925. These regulations, with minor modifications, guided the series through 1991. Public Law 102–138, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, es- tablished a new statutory charter for the preparation of the series which was signed by President George H.W. Bush on October 28, 1991. Sec- tion 198 of P.L. 102–138 added a new Title IV to the Department of State’s Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 4351, et. seq.). The statute requires that the Foreign Relations series be a thorough, accurate, and reliable record of major United States diplomatic activity. The volumes of the series should include all records needed to provide comprehensive documentation on major foreign policy decisions and actions of the United States Government. The statute also confirms the editing principles established by Secretary Kellogg: the Foreign Rela- tions series is guided by the principles of historical objectivity and accu- racy; records should not be altered or deletions made without indi- cating in the published text that a deletion has been made; the published record should omit no facts that were of major importance in reaching a decision; and nothing should be omitted for the purpose of concealing a defect in policy. The statute also requires that the Foreign Relations series be published not more than 30 years after the events recorded. Focus of Research and Principles of Selection for Foreign Relations, 1952–1954, Iran, 1951–1954 This volume is part of a sub-series that documents the foreign pol- icies of the Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower administra- tions. However, this volume is a retrospective volume that is meant to supplement Foreign Relations, 1952–1954, Volume X, Iran, 1951–1954, published in 1989. The 1989 volume provided significant documenta- III 339-370/428-S/80022 IV Preface tion on the oil dispute between the United Kingdom and Iran following the latter’s decision to nationalize the assets of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) in March 1951. It represents a thorough, accurate, and reliable account of the role the United States played in mediating the dispute. However, it did not provide any documentation on the role of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the formulation of U.S. policy toward Iran or documentation on the covert action that led to the overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mosadeq on Au- gust 19, 1953. The lack of such documentation prompted a sharply criti- cal reaction from concerned academics, the media, and other interested members of the public. In 1991, this reaction prompted the introduction and passage of congressional legislation, updating the Foreign Rela- tions statute and affirming the requirement that the Foreign Relations series “shall be a thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary record of major United States foreign policy decisions and significant United States diplomatic activity.” Furthermore, the legislation required U.S. Government departments and agencies to provide Department of State historians with “full and complete access to the records pertinent to United States foreign policy decisions and actions.” In order to fulfill this congressional mandate, Department of State historians were charged with compiling a “retrospective” volume, utilizing materials previously unavailable to the Foreign Relations series, to address the re- maining gaps in the historical narrative left by the 1989 volume on Iran. This Foreign Relations retrospective volume focuses on the use of covert operations by the Truman and Eisenhower administrations as an adjunct to their respective policies toward Iran, culminating in the overthrow of the Mosadeq government in August 1953. Moreover, the volume documents the involvement of the U.S. intelligence community in the policy formulation process and places it within the broader Cold War context. For a full appreciation of U.S. relations with Iran between 1951 and 1954, this volume should be read in conjunction with the vol- ume published in 1989. Editorial Methodology The documents are presented chronologically according to Wash- ington time. Memoranda of conversations are placed according to the time and date of the conversation, rather than the date the memoran- dum was drafted. Editorial treatment of the documents published in the Foreign Rela- tions series follows Office style guidelines, supplemented by guidance from the General Editor and the Chief of the Editing and Publishing Di- vision. The original document is reproduced as exactly as possible, in- cluding marginalia and other notations, which are described in the footnotes. Texts are transcribed and printed according to accepted con- ventions for the publication of historical documents in the limitations 339-370/428-S/80022 Preface V of modern typography. A heading has been supplied by the editors for each document included in the volume. Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation are retained as found in the original text, except that ob- vious typographical errors are silently corrected. Other mistakes and omissions in the documents are corrected by bracketed insertions: a correction is set in italic type; an addition is in roman type. Words or phrases underlined in the source text are printed in italics. Abbrevia- tions and contractions are preserved as found in the original text, and a list of abbreviations is included in the front matter of each volume. Bracketed insertions are also used to indicate omitted text that deals with an unrelated subject (in roman type) or that remains classi- fied after declassification review (in italic type). The amount and, where possible, the nature of the material not declassified has been noted by indicating the number of lines or pages of text that were omit- ted. Entire documents withheld for declassification purposes have been accounted for and are listed by their headings, source notes, and number of pages not declassified in their chronological place. All brackets that appear in the original document are so identified by foot- notes. All ellipses are in the original documents. The first footnote to each document indicates the source of the doc- ument, original classification, distribution, and drafting information. This note also provides the background of important documents and policies and indicates whether the President or his major policy ad- visers read the document. Editorial notes and additional annotation summarize pertinent material not printed in the volume, indicate the location of additional documentary sources, provide references to important related docu- ments printed in other volumes, describe key events, and provide sum- maries and citations to public statements that supplement and eluci- date the printed documents. Information derived from memoirs and other first-hand accounts has been used when appropriate to supple- ment or explicate the official record. The numbers in the index refer to document numbers rather than to page numbers. Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation The Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documenta- tion, established under the Foreign Relations statute, reviews records, advises, and makes recommendations concerning the Foreign Relations series. The Advisory Committee monitors the overall compilation and editorial process of the series and advises on all aspects of the prepara- tion and declassification of the series. Although the Advisory Com- mittee does not attempt to review the contents of individual volumes in 339-370/428-S/80022 VI Preface the series, it does monitor the overall process and makes recommenda- tions on particular problems that come to its attention. Because of the history and significance of this volume, the Advi- sory Committee offered advice throughout its lengthy preparation and took the unusual step of delegating a member to review the manu- script. Although the committee appreciates that some documenta- tion remains classified and does not appear in the volume, it assesses the volume as a reliable guide to the trajectory of U.S. policy to- ward Iran from 1951 to 1954 and an exceptionally valuable addition to the historical record. Accordingly, the committee recommended its publication.