AN AUGURY OF REVOLUTION: THE IRANIAN STUDENT ...

the United States, recalled that “SAVAK noticed for the first time that among the protesters who
greeted his arrival in New York were religious people carrying posters of Khomeini and large
placards calling for his return to Iran.” 340 One of the main objectives of SAVAK was to
minimize the impact of the religious demonstrators, and “to use all the means at its disposal to
prove to the American authorities that the new breed of demonstrators were traitors, on the
payroll o f the Iraqi government, which had extended Khomeini indefinite asylum.” 341
When the shah arrived at the White House on 22 August, the Johnson administration had
prior notice that there would be Iranian students staging a protest nearby. Between 60 and 150
masked members of the ISAUS staged a protest in Lafayette Park. The Secret Service advised
the president and the shah’s entourage against walking anywhere between the White House and
Blair House to avoid a risk of confrontation. 342 The demonstrators were kept at a distance from
the shah except in a few instances when they broke through the police line and got close enough
to throw anti-shah and anti-CIA leaflets at his motorcade. 343 While the demonstrations drew
attention, Dean Rusk believed that they did not detract from the success of the trip. 344
Once again, policymakers in Washington ignored the voices of Iranian students in favor
of strong relations with the shah. The Johnson administration, which was preoccupied with
Iran’s growing role in the Cold War, for both geopolitical and economic reasons, did not
consider the plight of its people. The American Embassy in Tehran hailed the trip as a
diplomatic triumph because Johnson and the shah solidified their relationship and removed the
shadow of Iran’s independent foreign policy. Referring to Iranian student groups, American
340 Rafizadeh, Witness, 151.
341 Rafizadeh, Witness, 151.
342 Memorandum from Arthur McCafferty of the National Security council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant
(Rostow), 22 August 1967, FRUS 1964-1968, Vol. XXII, 415.
343 Telegram from the Department of State to the Embassy in Iran, “Shah’s Washington Visit,” 26 August 1967,
FRUS 1964-1968, Vol. XXII, 429; Hendrick Smith, “Shah Welcomed at White House: Economic Progress of Iran is
Praised by Johnson,” NYT, 23 August 1967, p. 9.
344 DOS to AE Tehran, “Shah’s Washington Visit,” 26 August 1967, FRUS 1964-1968, Vol. XXII, 429.
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