Red Scare-mongering
August 11, 1954 — The Schenectady Gazette

The Mossadegh Project | March 8, 2013                     


The Iranian oil consortium was the subject of this lead editorial in The Schenectady Gazette newspaper in New York.

Iran Oil Consortium | Archive of Documents (1953-1954)




Fingers Crossed

In reporting the Iranian oil settlement, correspondents are writing that the oil was snatched from Soviet hands and Iran itself was snatched from chaos in the nick of time.

If the situation was that critical, we in the west may be all the more thankful that an agreement has been concluded between the Iranians and the British, Americans, Dutch and French. But we should keep our fingers crossed, because Moscow will not be satisfied to have the west get the oil.

As described, the agreement was a masterpiece of diplomacy, in which Herbert Hoover Jr. played an important role. A correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor said it is the estimate of experienced officials that Premier Mossadegh’s regime was so infiltrated with Communists at the time it was overthrown that if it had lasted two weeks more the Reds would have seized control of the government of Iran. Iran had nationalized the oil properties, the great Abadan refinery was closed, and the British and Iranian governments had broken diplomatic relations. It was a perfect setup for the Reds, and their party in Iran did all it could to gain control.

Little has been said during this period of shutdown about the attitude of the average Iranian citizen—if there is such a thing as “average.” Without doubt those Iranians who have benefitted from foreign operation of the fields, who realize that Iran is in no position to produce oil without foreign supervision and capital, and who favor the west, will be satisfied. But in further tests, will the Iranian man-in-the-street recognize the tactics of the Communists and actively combat them? The west has won a victory in the new agreement, but the Reds’ fight for Iran is just beginning.


Divvying Up the Loot: The Iran Oil Consortium Agreement of 1954
Divvying Up the Loot: The Iran Oil Consortium Agreement of 
1954

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Related links:

Agreement in Iran | The Amsterdam Evening Recorder, August 11, 1954

Iran to Russia: “Hands Off!” | The Lockport Union-Sun Journal, July 28, 1954

Shah Backers Won Out in Iran By Wee Margin | UPI, August 25, 1953



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