"Appropriate" Time

The President was all set for the question, at his weekly press conference, but no reporter asked it. So next day the White House put out an announcement: at "an appropriate time," 69-year-old Henry F. Grady will be relieved, at his own request, as U.S. Ambassador to Iran. The White House went on to say that Grady's relief had nothing to do with the sticky Iranian crisis, or with the departure of Presidential Adviser Averell Harriman to look it over (see FOREIGN NEWS). It was one of those denials that give color to a suspicion which need not exist. In Teheran, white-haired "Snowball" Grady complained loudly at the White House's inept handling.

The fact was that Diplomat Grady, a success in the touchy job as Ambassador to Greece during the Civil War, had moved on to the new job in troubled Iran with the understanding that he could resign after a year. When the time came, in May, he reminded the State Department of the agreement, and was asked to stay on at least until September.

Likely successor to Grady when he does leave: Loy Henderson, Ambassador to India, onetime Minister to Iraq and longtime friend of the Arabs.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.