British Diplomatic Oil Crisis: Contemporary Anglo-Saxon Geopolitical Rivalries in the Persian Gulf: Drawing a Lesson? Or Sir Anthony Eden‘s Delusion of Grandeur.
in New York in
October 1951, to address the Security Council, the US held
intense talks with him, and at the same time the Americans, in the UK,
discussed the situation with the new British Conservative Foreign Secretary,
Anthony Eden. The talks failed since both the British and Iranian
Governments’ view remained obdurate, as was seen in this chapter.
The
International Bank also made an attempt to mediate in the dispute
between Britain and Iran. This mediation failed too, since the Iranian Prime
Minister, Musaddiq, wanted the Bank to act on behalf of the Iranian
Government, within the nationalisation law, and the operating staff to come
from neutral countries, something which was not acceptable to the British
Government.
The Truman
administration believed that an economic collapse in Iran would
lead to a Communist takeover. Therefore, to maintain stability, as was
discussed, in an important part of the world, the United States provided
economic aid to Iran. Furthermore, on 30th August 1952, Churchill and Truman
sent a proposal to Musaddiq, that the question of compensation for the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s loss of oil due to breaking of the 1933
Agreement should be submitted to arbitration. The discussion in this chapter
indicated that Musaddiq was not prepared to give further consideration the
Anglo- American proposal.
Upon his
coming to office in January 1953, the Republican President
Eisenhower, to get a quick diplomatic victory soon after coming to office,
put a new set of proposals on 20th February to the Iranian Government. The
Iranian Government again rejected the proposals as was explained in this
chapter.
By now
Musaddiq was seen as too destabilising by the new American President,
Eisenhower. Furthermore, now, on both sides of the Atlantic, Conservative
governments were in power. Both were concerned about the threat of a
Communist takeover in Iran. Both governments had vested economic and
political interests in that part of the world. Accessibility of Iranian oil
reserves to
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