U.S. sent message to Shah: Don’t come here

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 9

U.S. sent message to Shah: Don’t come here

N..'- A Washington A private American citizen was enlisted by the Car-i ter Administration to go to Morocco and tell the Shah! that he was not welcome in’ the United States at this! time because of the delicacy! of Iranian-American relations. Administration officials' disclosed this hitherto secret! mission but declined to dis-j close the name of the man! who made it. The officials! did confirm that two other prominent Americans,! friendly to the Shah, ! David Rockefeller, the] banker, and Henry; Kissinger had first been asked; to. carry the message and) that both refused in anger, i Under strong behind-the-scenes pressure from Mrj Rockefeller, Mr Kissinger, ’ and a lawyer. John McCloy.l

i ( to reverse the decision, theli Administration now is say- i ■|ing privately that its in- 1 - tention is to allow the Shahli > to settle in the United States s i! eventually, when relations t i! with Iran are more settled. >1 As part of the effort to t {establish better ties with the I •Government of the Iranian ; •Prime Minister (Dr Mehdi i /Bazargan), the two countries ; : have agreed to exchange i •{new ambassadors. I r According to Adminis-1 iltration officials, Dr Kissi--1 nger has been forcefully ar- 1 .’guing on the Shah’s behalf < /with both White House and l /State Department officials.il "He met the Secretary oflf /State (Mr Cyrus Vance) per-j l|sonally last week to urge J j the Shah’s admission. Dr A ■ Kissinger is now in Japan as t {is Mr Rockefeller. t The problem of what to c .Ido about the Shah has be- f

{come a great source of concern and embarrassment to | the Administration which originally had planned to allow him to go into exile in this Country. Nov; the Shah, his family, and their entourage of about 130, are without a permanent place of residence. Administration officials, who helped get him settled in the Bahamas on March 31, said that he is under pressure to move to another place. The Shah would like to go to Acapulco, Mexico, where! a sister owns a house, but! the Mexican Government! has not yet approved a visa| for him, they said. Ardeshir Zahedi, the Shah’s last ambassador in Washington, was reported travelling to several countries in Latin America discussing possible permission for the Shah to enter.