Friends Well Met

It was without question the most dazzling state visit that Washington had seen in years. When His Imperial Majesty Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, and his lovely Shahbanou (Imperial Consort), Empress Farah, arrived at the White House for a four-day state visit Thursday, they were greeted by silver-colored trumpets, red carpets and a 21-gun salute that boomed across the South Lawn. Gerald Ford, the seventh U.S. President that the Shah has met in his 34-year reign, greeted his Iranian guests with the kind of warmth normally reserved for close and deeply trusted friends. Outside the White House gates, several hundred Iranian students shouted "Down with the Shah" and brandished signs denouncing him as a CIA puppet, but the Emperor remained unruffled. He called the U.S. "the friend to all people striving for liberty and dignity" and declared that his country's good feelings about Americans were "stronger than ever."

After a 95-minute meeting withFord and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office, the Shah was the guest of honor, with Empress Farah, at a luncheon given by Kissinger and his wife Nancy. The site of the feast was Hillwood, the verdant 25-acre estate bequeathed to the Government by the late Marjorie Merriweather Post. A huge green-and-white-striped tent was hung with May baskets filled with tulips. Inside, guests lunched on gazpacho, filet of beef, and lime sherbet heaped with fresh strawberries. The Robert Mc-Namaras, the William F. Buckleys, the David Brinkleys and Senator and Mrs. Jacob Javits, among others, heard Kissinger laud his guest as a great world leader.

The festive mood continued that evening at a jubilant white-tie state dinner at the White House. On hand once again was a large complement of notables, including Comedian Bob Hope, Singer Pearl Bailey, Dancer Fred Astaire, Auto Executive Henry Ford II and his wife Cristina, and Pan American World Airways Chairman William Seawell. Without specifically mentioning the Mayaguez affair, the Shah congratulated the President "for the great leadership and the right decisions that you took for your country." The state dining room rang with applause as the Shah lifted his glass of Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc to Ford.

Star Turn. The President was undoubtedly heartened by the Shah's remarks, especially since two other recent state visitors--Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and President Kenneth D. Kaunda of Zambia--had taken advantage of their opportunity to toast Ford by lecturing the U.S. on its international diplomatic responsibilities. The evening's star turn was an exuberant performance by Singer Ann-Margret that would have wowed them in Las Vegas, to say nothing of Tehran.

Next evening the Fords were guests of the Shah and the Empress at a state dinner at the Iranian embassy. Along' with 64 others, the President and his wife savored a traditional Persian meal, including black caviar, lamb kabobs, rice with a duck and pomegranate sauce and head-cracking Persian vodka. Before leaving Washington for New York, where the imperial couple were to be the principal guests at a Pocantico Hills dinner given by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and his wife, the Shah and his Empress, along with 800 personal guests, attended a performance of the American Ballet Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Among the dancers onstage was ballet's newest superstar, Mikhail Baryshnikov (TIME, May 19).

Private Sphere. The visit was not simply a round of formal fun. The Iranian embassy billed it as a demonstration of "the importance of Iran's role as a source of power and stability in the Middle East." The Shah talked at length with Ford and Kissinger on how to restore momentum to the next round of Middle East talks, tentatively set for Geneva this summer. As chief of state of the Persian Gulfs emerging superpower, the Shah came shopping for more military hardware, including the F-16 fighter jet and Air Force planes equipped with a new airborne warning and control system. He is intensifying Iran's already close ties with the U.S. in the private sphere as well. Final agreement is expected soon between the Tehran government and Pan Am on a $300 million deal in which Iran will loan the debt-ridden airline $245 million and also gain a majority interest in the prosperous chain of Intercontinental Hotels that Pan Am owns. "Your country has been of great help to us," said the Shah to Ford. "That is something we do not forget." Last week those words of good will were especially welcome in official Washington.

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