Word: mossadeq
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Dates: during 1951-1951
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...Premier Mossadeq's right-wing National Frontists heckled the Reds and fists began to fly. When the police moved in to protect the Frontists, the Tudeh retaliated with bricks. Four light army tanks rumbled forward; police on trucks and horseback rushed in, flailed the rioters with sabers; there were shots. The Tudeh raised their dead to their shoulders to show them off as martyrs, and fell back. In half an hour, hundreds were wounded, several were killed, and Majlis Square was clear...
Next: Harriman? To give the Iranians time to think things over, the British had cut Abadan's output to 25% of capacity, thus postponing still further the day when the huge plant will have to shut down for lack of storage facilities. But Mossadeq, Makki & Co. were in no mood to be reasonable. At The Hague, the International Court of Justice had just handed down an interim decision on Britain's appeal against nationalization. Ten of the twelve sitting judges recommended a truce: Britain and Iran should set up a joint board to supervise operation of the oilfields...
...Teheran house to bring him word of the decision, they found him sleeping calmly while his cabinet sat by his couch, wrestling with the complications of nationalization. Awakened and given the news, he said flatly he would reject the court's ruling. This week President Truman sent Mossadeq a personal letter urging him to accept the court's decision and offering to send his top diplomatic troubleshooter, W. Averell Harriman, to Iran...
...squeeze was on Mossadeq. His strategy-expel the company, keep the technicians-failed, as the British determined to clear out, and let the Iranians simmer in their oil until they came around. The old Premier tried concessions. Radio Teheran announced that Mossadeq was suspending plans to rush through an anti-sabotage bill (which would, in effect, have made the British responsible for any accidents during the takeover). Mossadeq dispatched a letter to President Truman asking "the great and esteemed American nation" for understanding and "help." But Secretary of State Dean Acheson had already outlined the U.S. attitude by charging Iran...
...week ended, the room left for maneuver and compromise had almost vanished. Now, even if Mossadeq wanted to, and he didn't, he dared not back down. Nationalization was still a highly popular slogan in Iran. The Communists-inspired Tudeh Party had easily whipped up 10,000 demonstrators in Teheran to shout "Death to Truman" and "Death to [U.S. Ambassador Henry] Grady." At the first sign of government weakness, the extremists would try to take over. But if the government didn't back down, its essential oil revenues would dry up and chaos would take over...