Carter to Canada: warm thanks

President Carter personally thanked Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark Jan. 31 for the heroic and risky rescue from Iran of six US embassy employees who escaped the captured US Embassy in Tehran.

The six were being reunited with families and were debriefed by State Department officials after their arrival at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Jan. 30. They were to meet newsmen for the first time in Washington on Feb. 1.

In a telephone conversation with Mr. Clark President Carter followed up earlier private messages of thanks to him and to the Canadian ambassador to Iran , Kenneth Taylor, who had sheltered the Americans in the Canadian Embassy and issued them Canadian passports for their escape. "I want to thank you and Ambassador Taylor and the Canadian government and people for the tremendous exhibition of friendship and support . . . and personal and political courage," President Carter said. The day before, Congress had voted a formal resolution of thanks to Canada.

"It was a remarkable demonstration of mutual trust . . . the existence of these Americans [in the Canadian Embassy] was not revealed until after they left ," the President told the Canadian prime minister.