Evening star., 1951-03-17
Ironion Oil Middle

III voting unanimously to nationalize the
country's oil industry, the lower house of the
Iranan Parliament has completely reversed the
position it took only about two months ago. At
that time it joined Premier Ali Razmara in op-
posing such course, doing so primarily because
of two matter -of-fact considerations: CD That
Iran lacks both the capital and the skilled man
power to make the most of its great petroleum
resources and (2) that it needs the revenue of
British-paid royalties to finance long-overdue
economic and social reforms.
These considerations have not changed with
in the past two months. They remain valid
as ever. But Iranian public opinion-always a
bit mercurial on the subject of foreign oil owner
ship-haS been passing through period of ex-
citation during recent weeks. Climaxed by the
brutal assassination of Premier Razmara, the
excitation has been the work of fanatical
nationalistic elements whose efforts have been
spurred by the Communist controlled Tudeh
Party. Accordingly, considering the preSsures
created by this tense and turbulent political at
mosphere, the turnabout parliamentary vote is
not altogether surprising
The immediate effect of the vote has been
to cast grave doubt on the future of the British
owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company the biggest
industry in Iran The company has been oper-
ating under concession that is supposed to re-
main in force until the year 1993-a fact which
the Attlee Labor government Gronically enough,
an ardent practitioner of naturalization in
BRITAIN has called to Teheran's attention in
note protesting against the parliamentary move
to nationalize AIOC Mere protests, however,
are likely to do little good. Although the lower
houses decision is subject to the approval of
Trans Senate, and although the Senate possibly
may reject it, the lower house still has the power
hU rYl1iT
the action it has taken Given such a reafhrma
ton, the measure could then be blocked only If
the Shah dissolved Parliament-a step that
seems improbable.
Actually, the truth of the matter is that the
idea of expropriating and Matchmaking this great
British company is popular in Iran. That is
why the Parliament in Teheran threw monkey
wrench into last years negotiations to double the
country's share in the company'S earnings. The
Attlee government favored the doubling, but the
Iranian Parlament-mindful that Trans royal
ties have added up to less than the taxes tex
elusive of dividends) that Britain has received
from AIOC-wanted more. Not without justif-
cation, it wanted Teheran to have larger voice
in management, and it insisted on conditions at
least as favorable as those governing American
oil relationships with Saudi Arabia.
From this line of reasoning, in a time of
Iranian political unrest, it has been only step
to the proposal for appropriation and national
ization. In reversing it's former rejection OF such
a measure the lower house at Teheran has acted
in tune with currently popular emotional mood.
But the impracticality of its decision seems SO
great that it may reverse itself again after it
completes the two-month study that is to be
undertaken to figure out just how to put the
decision to work The results of the study will
be awaited with keen interest, and more than
little anxiety, not merely by Britain but by the
United States and all other powers with reason
to fear that this muddle in Iran may play into
the Kremns hands