British Diplomatic Oil Crisis: Contemporary Anglo-Saxon Geopolitical Rivalries in the Persian Gulf: Drawing a Lesson? Or Sir Anthony Eden‘s Delusion of Grandeur.
CONCLUSION
In 1951 the Anglo-Iranian Oil
Company, the most important British enterprise
overseas, and the main British interest in the Persian Gulf, was
nationalised by the Iranian Government. The nationalisation of the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company took place when the British Labour Government was
still in power. The nationalisation of the Iranian oil confronted the Labour
Government with a dilemma. Chapter Two showed that on the one hand the
Labour Government of 1945-51 had nationalised more industries at home than
any previous government in British history: additionally the Labour Party
had a tradition of colonial doctrine of opposition to ‘colonial
acquisition’. On the other hand, however, there was the over-riding question
of national interest; oil was a vital issue in the British economy. Moreover
there was fear of the Egyptian Government nationalising the Suez Canal,
following the nationalisation of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. There was
also the question of prestige. The oil refinery at Abadan was the largest in
the world, and the embarrassment that the nationalisation of the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company would cause in the Arab world, British power being
challenged. The forthcoming General Election of October 1951 was an
additional factor on the Labour Government’s mind. The national interest
prevailed.
Chapter Two
and Chapter Three showed that the Labour Foreign Secretary,
Herbert Morrison, was in favour of taking military action against Iran, in
order to regain the oil facilities at Abadan. Prime Minister Clement Attlee
was against the idea of military intervention, because in his opinion use of
force would only strengthen nationalist feelings in Iran. Additionally
Attlee believed that without British personnel the running of the oil
facility would soon come to a halt, as a result the Iranians would be forced
to come to some kind of agreement with Britain. Emmanuel Shinwell, the
Minister of Defence, was the only other member of the Attlee Cabinet who
favoured the idea of the use of force to retrieve the Abadan oil facilities.
However, Prime Minister Attlee, with the prospect of the
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