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Washington has no illusions that the days of Iran as a client state are finished. Bazargan and his colleagues, says one American official who has just returned from Iran, "are looking for indications of American support toward a more neutral posture of open trade relations but without military patronage."
The prevailing view in Washington, as one Administration policymaker put it, was that "there's little we can do at this stage." The judgment is undoubtedly correct, but the seeming inability of the U.S. to influence events in Iran could have a serious impact on Washington's relations with other states in the Middle East's crescent of crisis. Ever since Mos cow moved to make Ethiopia its chief client on the Horn of Africa, the Saudis have complained about the waning of U.S. influence in the area. Says a State Department analyst: "The Saudis are taking a hard look now at their relations with Washington. They seem more worried than ever that a republic like the U.S. does not really have a terribly deep commitment to protecting monarchies."
To bolster the confidence of such apprehensive allies, Defense Secretary Harold Brown left last week on a ten-day tour of the Middle East. Among other matters, he would like to seal arrangements with Saudi Arabia to provide $200 million in military aid to buttress North Yemen against any possible incursions from the pro-Moscow regime in South Yemen. The U.S. also hopes to elicit a reaffirmation of continued Saudi financial aid for Egypt. In addition, the Administration is focusing on ways to enhance U.S. ties with Riyadh. Any tangible decline in U.S.-Saudi relations might force Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to adopt a tougher stance in peace treaty negotiations with Israel. "What's happened in Iran," admits a State Department official, "has forced us to examine a lot of unseen forces that bubbled below the surface in the Middle East."