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5. Mr Lever went on to say that the adjustments necessary to enable us to play our full part in NATO would involve some withdrawals from Cyprus and else here. However, Britain was not in any way withdrawing from its global commitments. We attached the greatest importance to our relationship with Iran in the strategic and defence fields: our attitude had not changed. We were inciden- tally very grateful to the Shah for his decision to order the new modified Chieftain tank.
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6.
The Shah reacted with much pleasure to these remarks, refering in familiar terms to the tank by the name of "the lion of Iran" and extolling its merits as the tank of the future. He said that the Germans could probably have made something as good, but only at astronomical cost.
7.
The Shah then told us some of the main points in his exchanges with Soviet leaders during his recent visit to MOSCOW. He said that he had been meaning to take an
opportunity to tell me about this trip: this as the first suitable occasion. Some of the things he would be telling us were not even known to his Minister of Court.
8.
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The Shah said that Brezhnev had asked him for ? session. At this
At this session, Brezhn ̈v hd complaind bont the Shah's rearmament programme. Why was Iran arming herself like this? Who was threatening her? The Shali replied strongly that no country bad the right to fell another country whether or mt it should have more or defence forces. He drew Brezhnev's attention to the published recently in Razhdad showing an intensnicul state of Paluchistan stretching from Bandar Abbas in the South to the Soviet border near Sarakhs. He asked Brezhney how, in the light of pretensions of this tind Iran could reason bly be expected to remain Yca'?
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9. The Shah went on to say that Brezhnev had count in d about Iranian membership of CENTO and about the Shah's acquiescence in the extension of US facilities on i Garcia. Brezhnev had said that CENTO Was anti-Sovit. The Shah had asked Brezhnev what conceivable threat CENTO offered to the Soviet Union. On Diego Garcia, had drawn Brezhnev's attention to the rapid rise in the number of Soviet ships deployed in the Indian Ocean.
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