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On Oct. 1, 1979,1 heard about the Shah's illness. In his evening report Vance noted that David Rockefeller had sent his personal physician to Mexico and that if the Shah's ailments were serious we might be asked to admit him for treatment. Cy added, "Our charge d'affaires [Bruce Laingen] in Tehran says local hostility toward the Shah continues and that the augmented influence of the clerics might mean an even worse reaction than would have been the case a few months ago, if we were to admit the Shah—even for humanitarian purposes."
On Oct. 17, Cy received another report from Rockefeller telling us the Shah was quite ill with a disease difficult to diagnose and to treat. Some of the doctors suspected cancer. The physicians wanted to bring the Shah to Cornell University Medical Center in New York City An eminent Columbia Medical School professor was to see the Shah on Oct. 18 and then consult with the State Department medical director before making a joint recommendation to Vance about what treatment the Shah required.
Cy explained this to me on Oct. 18 and added, "If we permit the Shah to come to the U.S. for treatment, we would want to inform the Iranians that we were doing so for humanitarian purposes and to leave open any question of future residence." In the margin I wrote "O.K." and returned a copy of the document to Vance.
The following morning, a Friday, Cy made it obvious that he was prepared to admit the Shah for medical reasons. I was now the lone holdout.
It happened that Henry Precht, the State Department s Director for Iranian Affairs, was in Iran with Laingen at the time. They were instructed to inform Bazargan and Foreign Minister Ibrahim Yazdi of the Shah's condition, tell them of our possible plans to provide treatment for him and seek their assistance. The next day I received a message from Laingen. He had told the two top Iranian officials that neither the Shah nor his wife would be involved in political activities while in the U.S., and asked for a guarantee of protection for American citizens in Iran. They had responded that there undoubtedly would be a sharp reaction, but that they could guarantee protection.
On Saturday, Oct. 20,1 went to Camp David. There I received a "supersensitive" memorandum from Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher. He reported, "We have now learned the Shah's illness is malignant lymphoma compounded by a possible internal blockage that has resulted in severe jaundice. The lymphoma responded satisfactorily when chemotherapy was started several months ago, but recently the chemotherapy has been less effective. The Shah has not had tests necessary to establish proper diagnosis and further chemotherapeutic approaches. Dr. Benjamin Kean of the Cornell Medical School, who last saw the Shah yesterday, has advised us that these diagnostic studies cannot be carried out in Mexico, and he recommends that the examination take place in the U.S. David Rockefeller has asked that we admit the Shah to Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City for diagnosis and treatment. The State Department's medical director supports