The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-03-21
BY WILLIAM L. RYAN
APP Foreign News Analyst

Ar rorel9n news analyst
They are like hungry cats,
watching a mouse.
The Communists might have
tried to take over Iran last July
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 its time and waiting for
word from Moscow. There must
be fear in Moscow-fear that an
engineered coup in Iran, however
made to look like an internal af-
fair, might start in motion the
chain of events leading to World
War Ill, for which Moscow is I'M
ready.
The Communist party takes no
important action in Iran without
orders from across the border.
This is UNDERSIGNED in the frequent
24-hour lagS between the develop
ment of a given situation and Tu-
deh's plunge into the middle of it.
This is one Of the most impor-
tant weaknesses in the party which
is the strongest organized political
force in Iran today. The party
lacks Iranian leadership. Financed
and supported by Moscow. it
seems powerless to act without
outside help, either in the form of
Soviet troops or invading satellite
forces from the north from the
ranks of tribesmen in Soviet con-
troll.
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 cur
tain by internal means.
However, both the Russians and
the Tudeh are building toward the
day when Moscow could take a
gamble or seize advantage of a
golden opportunity. The death or
overthrow of aged Mossadegh, for
example, could be signal for vio-
lence end chaos in which the Tudeh
might spring to power.
Watching and waiting is a vast
Soviet installation with the outside
help the Tudeh might one day need.
And beyond the borders, exiled
Communist leaders schooled and
directed by Moscow operate the
Iranian Tudeh party,
Inside Iran the USSR has an
elaborate espionage network, dom
mated by an immense embassy
tucked in a walled area of Teh-
ran four city blocks square. The
USSR has an equally large "sum.
mer" embassy in the mountain
suburbs, stated the year around
1t has an elaborate hospital In
Tehran, Soviet-staffed, the largest
in Persia. II has large CONNER
cial section apart from the EN-.
hassy, near the main bazaar. 1t
has a big information center under
V0KS (Moscow's All-Union Socie-
| ty for Cultural Relations Abroad.
It has the satellite legations.
| The massive embassy once was
the palace of a Russian baron ex-
lied to Persia by the Car. No
outsider can estimate how many
Russians are there now, but ii is
great number m a compound
which is a city TO itself. The Rus.
SLAMS are seldom seen outside II.
Into this embassy new men are
imported every week. There will
be q man brought in as ''typist''
for example. and another as
translator for the typist. and
others in similarly strange cate.
gories. These, ii is said, included
teachers for about 200 cells in
Tehran 10 instruct in such things
as the street fighting tactics which
have shown up in the outbursts Of
bloody rioting.
The Soviet Embassy Is behind
high wall and iron gates which are
always locked. Nevertheless there
was a purge there recently grow
ing out Of the theft cf secret docu-
ments from the Soviet instaIia-
tons.
The Soviet hospital. generally
viewed as an important spy cent.
CT. Is expensive with the rnost
modern facilities, and definitely
not charity institution. II ID ire
oniy good hospital in town
The Soviet installation gives fl
rect financial and other AID 10 tie
Tudeh party. which does sol lack
funds The party is supposed 10
be Illegal ard underground hsa
that Is q farce. Us newspaper ere
Published regularly co neRkpsing
often furnished By TIRE Russians.
sometimes taking aIsferent names
when police 80 through ire mosluas
81 closing them. ne Tadeh acslv-
stlex are as open IS Il As rsssge
fer . .sclan5est1ns" psrty.s sxsIs-
Issex 10 be. But ne real Sesaegs D
ID ID tie USSR.
IN Mosenw j. 7exa paSmanesss.
Tsdeh SecTxtsry geasTal BE spoke
% she 0cs1ber cs1manzgs es-
gvwsx II tAe IESSR ard Saezs lsess
rs parry Openly az Cenwgr q