891.248/80: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Iran (Engert)
56. Your 103, May 6, 5 p.m. Please again assure the Prime Minister that this Government has given and will continue to give full and sympathetic consideration to his various proposals. However, so far as concerns loans to foreign governments, their agencies and nationals, the only United States Government organization through which loans are made is the Export-Import Bank, which is prevented by the Act of March 2, 194045a from making “any loans for the purchase of any articles, except aircraft exclusively for commercial purposes, listed as arms, ammunition, or implements of war by the President of the United States in accordance with the Neutrality Act of 1939”.45b
The Iranian Government is free to make purchases here of military and civil aircraft on the same basis as any other country. The Iranian Aviation Mission has already been placed in touch with manufacturers through the Inter-Departmental Committee and the Department stands ready to arrange further contacts upon request.