Evening star., 1953-03-20

during the bloody rioting. They
didn't and many were surprised.
They might have tried at the
end of February, but again they
didn't.
The Tudeh (Communist)
Party is biding it's time and watt
ing for word from Moscow.
There must be fear in MOSCOW
fear that an engineered coup in
Iran, however made to look like
an internal affair, might start
in motion the chain of events
leading to World War III, for
which Moscow is unready.
The Communist Party takes
no important action in Iran
without orders from across the
border" This is underscored in
the frequent 24-hour lags be-
tween the development of a
given situation and Tudeh's
plunge into the middle of it.
This is one of the most i'm
portant weaknesses in the party
which is the strongest organized
political force in Iran today. The
party lacks Iranian leadership.
Financed and supported by Mos
COW, it seems powerless to act
without outside help, either in
the form of Soviet troops or in
vading satellite forces from the
North from the ranks of tribes
men in Soviet control.
Nervous Time of Peace.
In the event of war, Iran likely
would be taken over quickly, but
In this nervous time of official
peace, the Communists seem both
unready and unwilling to try to
push the country behind the
curtain by internal means.
However. both the Russians
and the Tudeh are building to-
ward the day when Moscow could
take a gamble or seize advantage
of a golden opportunity. The
death or overthrow of aged Mos
sadegh, for example, could be
a signal for violence and chaos
In which the Tudeh might spring
to power.
Watching and waiting is a
vast installation with the outside
help the Tudeh might one day
need. And beyond the borders,
eXlled Communist leaders
schooled and directed by Moscow
operate the 1ranian Tudeh Party.
Tribesmen under renegade Iran
1ans train with Soviet supervi-
sion against the possibility they
may be wanted for an invasion.
Inside Iran the U. S. S. R. has an
elaborate espionage network,
dominated by an immense em-
bassy tucked in walled area
OF Teheran, four city blocks
SQUARE. The y. S. S. R. has an
equally large summer" embassy
In the mountain suburbs, stated
the year around. It has an elab-
crate hospital in Teheran. So
vlet.staffed, the largest in Persia.
1t has large commercial section
apart from the embassy, near the
main bazaar. It has a big infor-
nation center under VOKS
CMoscow'S All-Union Society for
Cultural Relations Abroad. It
has the satellite legations; the
Romanian and Czechoslovak are
most active in Soviet behalf.
Number Inside Unknown.
The massive embassy once was
the palace Of a Russian baron
eXlled to Persia by the Car. No
outsider can estimate how MANY
russians are there now, but it
Is a great number in compound
which is a city to itself. The Rus
slams are seldom seen outside il
Into this embassy new men
are imported every week. There
Will be a man brought in as a
typlst" for example, and an
other as translator for the typ
lst," and others in similarly
strange categories. An official
1ranian source expresses belief
the Soviet embassy brought in
zoo men in this way in the past
year. These, he said, included
teachers for about 200 cells in
1eheran to instruct in such
things as the street fighting tao
tics which have shown up in
the outbursts of bloody rioting.
The Soviet embassy fronting
on Churchill street is behind a
high wall and iron gates which
are always locked. Nevertheless
there was a purge there recently
growing out of the theft of
secret documents from the
Soviet installations.
The Soviet hospital, generally
viewed as an important spy CEN
ter, Is on Naderi (now Shah)
street. 1t is expensive with the
most modern facilities, and de-
f1nltely not a charity institution.
Two white flags bearing the Red
hammer and. sickle f1utter in
front of the Bolnitsa Sovietskovo
Krasnovo KreSta (Hospital of
the Soviet Red Cross. It is the
only good hospital in town.
Outranked Red Ambassador.
The institution began as a
military hospital in 1941 during
the Soviet occupation. After the
war it was headed by Prof. Ba-
rouian, an Armenian who, Iran
ian sources say, headed the spy
ring in Iran and outranked the
Soviet ambassador. Barouian was