A distinguished visitor from Iran apparently is enjoying his visit to America but is reluctant to give his impressions. After a brief visit with Geneva Times reporters early today, he left with James Luckett, editor of publications at the Agricultural Experiment station here, for a day at the New York State Fair.

The visitor is 40-year-old, genial Mahmoud Zahir, a nephew of Mohammed Mossadegh, premier of Iran. He visited the Geneva Agricultural Experiment Station Tuesday to observe new methods of cultivating various fruits and vegetables.

Mr. Zahir is a rather short man. He was attired in a brown suit and a blue tie. He speaks English fluently.

Mr. Zahir is in charge of the Department of Horticulture in the Ministry of Agriculture in Teheran, and has been in the United States since Nov. 15, 1951, under the U.S. government’s point four program of aid to underdeveloped countries. [Point Four]

Guest of Genevan

He was a dinner guest Tuesday at the home of N. M. Firoozi, Canandaigua Rd., who came to this country from Iran in 1924.

Mr. Zahir plans to go Thursday night to Cornell University in preparation for a horticulture meeting Sept. 8, 9 and 10. He expects to return to Iran some time next month.

To see as much of this country as possible, Mr. Zahir purchased an automobile and has driven from New York to San Diego and from Miami to Seattle.

Even so, Mr. Zahir is reluctant to give his impressions of America.

Fears He’ll Misjudge

“Others have visited the United States for one month and then gone home to write all about it,” he remarked.

“But even after eight months of driving through your country, I don’t like to give my impressions because it is such a large country and I am afraid I would be wrong.”

His father, Zahiroleslam, is a senator of the Iranian Parliament, and Mr. Zahir studied in France for 12 years. He learned English there and speaks it fluently.

Although reticent to talk about political matters, Mr. Zahir said he was in favor of Iranian nationalization of its oil industry, because “It is the right of the Iranian people to control their own resources.”

He felt Americans were not sufficiently aware of the oil problem in Iran.

Fears Russia

When questioned in regard to fear of Russia, he said Iran has been afraid of Russia since the days of Catherine the Great because of a common 500-mile frontier with that country.

Mr. Zahir remarked that although many people think of his country as an arid land, in actuality, many types of climate are represented because of the varying altitudes throughout Iran.

“Teheran is really at about the same latitude as San Francisco,” he added, “and therefore many different types of fruits and other crops are grown there.”