On Iran

To the Editors of The Crimson:

We salute the Iranian people for having succeeded in driving from power the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

The friendship between the American people and the Iranian people will grow only if our government refrains from condoning a military coup as a solution to popular opposition to the Bakhtiar government. In this regard, the American government should publicly state that such an alternative, requiring as it would the use of American supplied arms and aircraft, is unacceptable and not in the interest of either our own or the Iranian people. It should state further that such a government could not and would not receive recognition by this country.

We believe that the fall of the Shah is a turning point in the long history of the Iranian struggle for self-determination, and we believe further that its lesson for our government is clear: don't interfere in such struggles, be they in Iran, Chile, the Philippines, South Africa, or elsewhere. Only then will Americans be regarded as friends by the people of these countries. Jack Levine   Counsel and Treasurer,   U.S. People's Committee on Iran