AN AUGURY OF REVOLUTION: THE IRANIAN STUDENT ...

Shah!” 221 Groups of 25 to 30 students also greeted the shah at Dulles Airport, the White House,
American University, the Sulgrave Club, and the Iranian embassy. 222 While the shah was
accompanied by Empress Farah, she remained on the East Coast, and she did not go with him to
UCLA because of a “disagreeable experience with students in California two years ago.” 223 The
shah’s motorcade had to be constantly rerouted throughout the trip so that he would not come
into contact with the groups of students protesting on the streets of Washington, D.C. 224
A one-hour meeting between the shah and President Johnson was arranged on 5 June,
during which they discussed numerous issues. One was American military assistance and the
modernization of the Iranian armed forces. The second was the Arab threat on Iran’s borders.
The shah feared the influence of Nasser’s Pan-Arab Nationalism in surrounding nations and on
the Arab population within Iran. Third, the United States assured the shah that it would not
sacrifice Iran’s security interests as part of a settlement with the Soviet Union. There were also
numerous issues to be discussed, which included thanking the shah for his support of the
American war effort in South Vietnam. 225 Along with these crucial talking points, Johnson was
prepared to discuss the “Iranian student problem” in the United States. Rusk noted in an earlier
memorandum that the shah might express dissatisfaction with the inability of the U.S.
government to control anti-shah students studying in the United States. While Johnson remained
adamant that the United States did not support the students’ activities, he assured the shah that
221 “Shah in U.S. for Visit; To See Johnson Today,” NYT, 5 June 1964, p. 3.
222 Telegram from the Department of State to the Embassy in Iran, “Shah’s Visit,” 9 June 1964, FRUS 1964-1968,
Vol. XXII, 82-3. This document can be found at the National Archives in the General Records of the Department of
State, Central Foreign Policy Files 1964-66, Box 2331, Folder POL 7 IRAN (1/1/64).
223 Telegram from American Embassy in Tehran to Secretary of State, 22 April 1964, General Records of the
Department of State, Central Foreign Policy Files 1964-66, Box 397, Folder IRAN EDX, RG 59, NA; “Shah in U.S.
for Visit; To See Johnson Today,” NYT, 5 June 1964, p. 3.
224 DOS to AE Iran, “Shah’s Visit,” 9 June 1964, FRUS 1964-1968, Vol. XXII, 82-3.
225 Rusk to Johnson, “Your Meeting with the Shah of Iran,” 3 June 1964, FRUS 1964-1968, Vol. XXII, 66-8.
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