For the second time in six years the Government of Iran has taken a case before the Security Council of the United Nations. The first appearance, in 1945, [1946] was in the form of an appeal to compel the Soviet Union to withdraw its troops from Iran and cease supporting a rebel regime. The appeal aroused such widespread sympathy that the Russians withdrew under pressure of world opinion.

Iran appeared before the Security Council again Monday, but with an entirely different approach. Premier Mossadegh told the Council that it had no jurisdiction in the British-Iranian oil dispute. His offer to resume negotiations was limited to two points — compensation to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and terms for sale of Iranian oil to the British.

Insisting that Iran must be the sole judge of its own case, the ailing Iranian political leader surprised delegates with the remark that Communist Russia had accorded Iran better treatment than was forthcoming from the “exploiting British.” Mossadegh overlooked the fact that unless Iran’s oil starts flowing again soon, it will mean collapse of his own country and grave injury to the free world. This is far more important at the moment than the extent of past exploitation by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

Mossadegh did not faint or weep as has been his wont before the Iranian Parliament, but neither did he make any constructive contribution toward a solution. He made it plain that while Iran is willing to resume negotiations on its own terms, it wants the Security Council to keep hands off. This is in contrast to the stand taken by Britain, which is urging the earliest possible agreement on at least provisional points calculated to encourage resumption of oil production.

Much remains to be said on both sides, but there is encouragement in the fact that at long last the matter is before the United Nations body equipped to handle such disputes. What the Security Council will be able to accomplish depends upon how interested both sides are in a settlement.