Page:Documents from the Den of Espionage.djvu/361

 €5??€§lP§*:£iA.& Ovmvxrtu run nil! be ct great lmpnrtance an the United ’-tate: ic: the foreseeable tururer its strategic l¤·- cation, its all and gas resource; nn:} its political swfluenue with other countries in the area, all tellers wngezher, mean that Iran‘s developement una! viability have e direct effeer on curtain viral interests ol che Us and wr NNN allies. Iran in the capstone ef the buffer mne between the Soviet Union and the all rich Arabian Peninsula. While zhe UB uns only {ive percent ui ies oil, tran is a major supplier for Japan and Western Europe end is an important element within DPBC in derermining eil psicesr It also phys an increasingly active regional mln aimed at promtinn nf the peaceful develowenr and independence nf rhe Persian Gul! stares and limiting Soviet in- tluenca in that crucial. axe;. Finally, iran in the site of some unique Us £nre1li9enee Enciliries which would be extremely Mfficult and expensive tc dup! Scare or lcware elsewhere. Relations between the US and Iren are good. For
 * 1:re than JD years we have worked together on meters of

high national interest to both countries, endwiurlng this eine we have established working habits and ties - including those between the Shah and successive Us presidents - which are preductive and close. 'rhh c¤n» ditlon has continued into the Carter Adninlstrattun. the President has been persenally involved in major decisions cnncerning pollciea towards Tun and has slready ex- changed visits with the Shah. tn Tehran the Ambnssader has regwlar and easy access tu the Shah. Nevertheless, there are several policy issues which create difficulties between the rwu countries. These reuruve around human rights, ams sales, and our nuclear non-qgreliferation policies. Feelings have run high within the USG un hav but to deal `vith the sihah on each at there issues. but our approach has generally been one ot quiet pressure by the President, the Secretary and the Auhessadoe on dawn. We have not made aggresive CONFIDENTIAL cg B