British Diplomatic Oil Crisis: Contemporary Anglo-Saxon Geopolitical Rivalries in the Persian Gulf: Drawing a Lesson? Or Sir Anthony Eden‘s Delusion of Grandeur.

At this
point the Company served notice on the Persian Government
that they wished the dispute to be submitted to arbitration in
accordance with the terms of the 1933 Concession Agreement. The
Persian Government rejected this request on 26th May and demanded
that the Company’s representatives should attend meetings for the
liquidation of the Company. The Company then applied under the terms
of the 1933 Agreement to the President of the International Court at
the Hague to appoint a sole arbitrator between themselves and the
Persian Government. At the same time his Majesty’s Government
submitted the matter to the Hague Court as a dispute between the
United Kingdom Government and the Persian Government.5

The attitude of the Iranian Government was:

1. They insisted on their sovereign right to expropriate of the
   Anglo-Iranian Oil Company subject to the payment of
   compensation at a rate which would be determined by the
   Iranian courts. (The second nationalisation bill provided
   that 25% of the net proceeds of oil sales should be set
   aside to provide a fund for the payment of such compensation
   as might be determined);

2. they insisted on
   entire control of the oil operation
   (although they were willing to employ the expatriate staff
   of the Company as servants of the, now, National Iranian Oil
   Company or NIOC, on the same terms as they had been working
   for with the Anglo- Iranian Oil