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37 issued that the Governor-General and Governors of Azerbaijan should be sent out to fill their posts. In addition, orders had been given for the dispatch of troops to restore order. The Iranian Government requested the Soviet Government to give the necessary immediate instructions to the Soviet military authorities to refrain from interfering with the freedom of action of the Iranian army and constabulary. The Iranian Government warned that if urgent attention was not paid to these matters the situation was such that disastrous consequences might ensue, and that if unfortunate incidents occurred owing to lack of freedom of movement of its armed forces, it would have the right to impute responsibility for this failure to the Soviet military authorities.

After the Iranian forces had been halted by the Soviet authorities on 21 November 1945, the Iranian Government addressed two notes, on 22 and 23 November 1945 respectively, requesting that telegraphic instructions be given to the Soviet authorities immediately to let these forces go through.

On 26 November, the Soviet Government answered the urgent requests of the Iranian Government by stating, as mentioned above, that if the Iranian Government sent troops to Azerbaijan this would cause disturbance and bloodshed and that it was therefore not considered advisable to allow reinforcements to proceed to Azerbaijan.

The rest of the note of the Soviet Government was a categorical denial of numerous incidents of interferences which the Iranian Government had cited in its note of 17 November. The submission of the Soviet Government, in its notes of 26 November to the Iranian Government and of 29 November to the United States Government, that it had prevented the dispatch of troops to Azerbaijan makes it unnecessary for me at this stage to deal with the other numerous acts of interference by the Soviet military and civil authorities in the internal affairs. These acts are fully set forth in the memorandum I am presenting today.

On 1 December, the Iranian Government addressed a reply to the Soviet Government in which satisfaction was expressed for the assurances implied in the Soviet note that these incidents would not be repeated, that the interference in the Northern Provinces would cease and that the security forces would be able to move about freely. The Iranian Government asked that it should be informed of the urgent steps which the Soviet Embassy would be taking to ensure freedom of movement for the Iranian military and civil authorities in the Northern Provinces. Exception was taken to the statement of the Soviet Government in its note that it could not be held