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10. The Shah summed up by saving that Brezhncy's
titude was characteristic of the Russian desire to establish weak countries like Afghanistan and Finland around its borders. But he had made cleer to Brezhnev that Iran would go its own way regardless of his views. Tran could afford guns and butter and would not have much, if any, butter without guns.
11.
Mr Lever then asked me to outline some of the more Important details in the Defence Review proposals. T raid that I intended to draw the Shah's attention to six areas which were of special importance to Iran: -
(1) CENTO
(ii)
Cyprus
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Oman
Indian Ocean Simonstown
(vi) Through Deck Cruiser.
1 poke according to the bricfo.
12. The Shah said that he would react on the spot. AA regards CENTO, he saw no weakening of the defence of the area through our withdrawing the Vulcans from Cyprus P. by implication the Nimrods and Canberras from Malta.
Ac mentioned his Five Year Plan for expansion of his Armed Services and said that his increased Air Force would be able to fill the conventional, ie non-nuclear, gop kari by the withdrawal of the Vulcans.
12.
The Shah welcomed what I had said on Oren and added that the Sultan had ended his fences with him and EF hnd despatched a fresh brigade to Owan. It had opened a new offensive a day aro and had met no resistance so far,
le showed interested in that I had said about vorus (TAA)
(1 but did not demur.
1:
14 On the Indian Ocean, the Shah said that he did think that hi defences would be weakened by our ithien and reductions, any more than his defences would be met by ithdrawal of our aircraft from CENTO. The Soviet/Chineas
nation had reduced tension in the Indian Ocean and he had hopes that his Indian Ocean Common Market proposal "ould eventually develop into an organisation which would colorise ecurity as well as economics.
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