TELEGRAM 075.359 from the Romanian Embassy in Tehran to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

TELEGRAM 075.359

To: the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Fourth Directorate)

From: the Romanian Embassy in Teheran

Date: May  30^th, 1978

Classification: Secret

Amir Afshar Aslan, Chief of Protocol at the Imperial Court told me that the North Korean Vice-President, on the occasion of his recent official visit to Iran (reftel 075.345) gave the Shah an invitation from comrade Kim Il Sung to visit the DPRK.

The invitation was accepted, and the visit will probably take place in 1979, together with a visit to the People’s Republic of China, which sent an invitation to the Shah 2 years ago.

Afshar said that the visits the Iranian monarch is undertaking in several countries, including in socialist countries, have as purpose the strengthening of Iran’s cooperation with all states, irrespective of their social regime, and [thus], to demonstrate the universality of Iran’s foreign policy.

‘While adopting and promoting [this] foreign policy approach, we must take into account our neighbor to the North, which can occupy us in 18 hours, in case a conflict breaks out,’ Afshar said.

We think that Iran’s wide opening to socialist countries, manifested in visits to Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1977, Bulgaria and Hungary in May 1978, Romania and the GDR in September 1978, and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and PRC in 1979, have the following purposes:

1. Given the evolution of the region in which Iran is located, strengthening relations with the USSR and other socialist countries (with which Iran has considerable mutually advantageous economic and commercial ties) is imperative.
2. Through these actions, Iran wants to prove the independence of its foreign policy from the US and Western states in general. At the same time, [Iran] is [sending them] a warning (especially the US against the opposition to deliver the advanced weapons systems Iran had requested) that the Iranian government can adopt a rapprochement policy with socialist states and [a policy of] relative distancing from the West, if Iran is not granted the appropriate attention and importance.

In essence, however, Iran’s foreign policy will continue to be based on its close alliance with the US, on whose support [Iran] is counting in case a conflict breaks out.

Signed

Al. Boabă