Iran: Charles at the Peacock Throne

In its 2,500 years, Persia has been overrun by conquerors ranging from Alexander the Great to Omar I the Caliph to Tamerlane. Never had it witnessed such a visitation as last week, when the grandeur of Charles de Gaulle met the pomp of the Peacock Throne.

At Teheran, le grand Charles was welcomed by Iran’s Shahanshah, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, and his lovely Empress, Farah Diba—who share dulcet memories of France, since the Shah first met his young Queen-to-be while she was an architecture student in Paris. Through flag-bedecked streets rode De Gaulle in a gilded state carriage. Along the route, crowds chanted “Zindehbad [long live] De Gaulle,” which turned out to be a particularly poetic cheer, since the visitor’s name sounds like “Two Flowers” in Farsi, the Persian tongue. Ignoring Draconian security measures, Two Flowers moved right into the crowd and shook hundreds of outstretched hands just as if he were at home. He toured the ancient cities of Shiraz, Isfahan and Persepolis, viewed the crown jewels, laid a wreath on the mausoleum of the Shah’s father, Reza Shah Pahlevi.

As became apparent last May when he paid a triumphal visit to Greece, De Gaulle has visions of rebuilding France’s influence in the Middle and Near East. At a banquet in Golestan Palace, in private talks with the Shah and his able Premier, Assadollah Alam, the guest repeated his pitch: Iran enjoys a friend in France, which has had treaty relations with the country since Louis XIV. In an address to Parliament, De Gaulle hailed the Shah’s reforms, added that Iran, like France, has preserved dignified independence despite the cold war. He wound up with a grand offer “to contribute efficiently to the development of your country.”

Direct French aid to Iran averages less than $1,000,000 a year, mostly in scholarships (U.S. aid this year is $116 million, has totaled $1.5 billion since the war). Indirectly, the Paris government backs $100 million in loans that are facilitating French construction projects in Iran. It remains to be seen whether France will offer much more; for all his ringing words, De Gaulle cited no future aid figures. Yet Iranians, who in the past have had their differences with Washington over the amount and type of U.S. aid received, were pleased to be wooed by De Gaulle. Loaded with gifts of silk Persian rugs, the regal invader prepared to fly off at week’s end, apparently having impressed his host. Slightly starry-eyed, the Shah predicted that De Gaulle’s visit would produce “good things, maybe marvelous things.”