Jack Straw on Iran's "perfectly democratic" Prime Minister Mossadegh

Jack Straw on "perfectly democratic" Mossadegh

Jack Straw, UK Foreign Secretary

Though the American CIA declassified its once secret history years ago, the British government has never officially acknowledged their role in the 1953 coup that overthrew Mossadegh. In December 2005, we reported that according to the British Broadcasting Company, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw rebuffed requests from the BBC in the development of their radio documentary "A Very British Coup". In fact, his office refused to release documents under the Freedom of Information Act about British involvement in the evil deed.

The BBC then requested an interview with Mr. Straw, and were flatly rejected. They requested a written statement explaining why he would not talk, and were told it was "not possible". Then they asked if his Foreign Office could at least explain why they refused to make any comment whatsoever about Britain's role in the coup, and received this terse response: "There will be no further comment from the FCO."

Not long after this sequence, Jack Straw delivered the keynote address at the Foreign Press Association, where the program he refused to cooperate with was awarded Radio Story of the Year.

Since that time, Jack Straw has admitted his nation's role in the crime of 1953 which overthrew a "perfectly democratic prime minister" (his words). At the 2006 World Economic Forum in Davos, Straw revealed that the first time he met Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President immediately brought up the 1953 coup; they were in fact his first words to him. [Straw is no longer Foreign Secretary and today leads the House of Commons].

Jack Straw Praises Dr. Mossadegh (12/23/06)

On December 23, 2006, Jack Straw formally responded to the UN Resolution 1737, which imposed sanctions against Iran for its continuation of "uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities". He ridiculed Iran's exploitation of parallels with Mossadegh's oil nationalization fight in the 1950's, extolling the virtues of Dr. Mossadegh in contrast with the Islamic regime's differing character:

Despite tireless diplomacy by Javier Solana, Iran has chosen not to pursue our proposals. And rather than suspend enrichment – since July, a legal obligation – it has continued on a bigger scale.

So we have little option but to increase the pressure. The measures the Security Council adopted today are aimed at constraining activities that could contribute to a weapons program. They will be frozen if Iran complies and lifted in the event of a long-term solution.

I hope Iran's leaders heed the Security Council's message.

The regime wants to portray this as a national struggle, a rerun of Prime Minister Mossadegh's battle with Britain in the 1950's over control of Iran's oil revenue.

This is ironic. Because of other things Mossadegh stood for – like constitutional and accountable government – they are normally anxious to play down his legacy, and decline even to name a street in Tehran after him, though they happily honor the likes of Anwar Sadat's assassin, Khaled Islambouli.

And the Iranian government is not defending the national interest, as Mossadegh did, but betraying its citizens.

Straw Acknowledges Britain's Pro-Shah Mistakes (10/06)

In October 2006, Straw was interviewed by the Austrian newspaper "Die Presse". The article was only published in German, but here is an English translation followed by the original German version:

Die Presse: How heavily does the history weigh on the relations with Iran?

Straw: That is the truth, which we all must draw in the calculation: the Iranians feel historically without friends and isolated. I understand that. They feel degraded by the great powers: America and Britain deposed in 1953 Prime Minister Mossadegh, and we helped to keep the Shah on the Peacock throne much longer than was justified.

Die Presse: Wie schwer drückt die historische Last auf die Beziehungen zum Iran?

Straw: Das ist eine Wahrheit, die wir alle ins Kalkül ziehen müssen: Die Iraner fühlen sich historisch ohne Freunde und isoliert. Ich verstehe das. Sie fühlen sich erniedrigt von den Großmächten: Amerikaner und Briten stürzten 1953 Irans Ministerpräsident Mossadegh, und wir halfen, den Schah viel länger auf dem Pfauenthron zu halten, als es gerechtfertigt war.

Straw: We Must See Things From Iran's Point of View (2/8/06)

Rt Hon. Jack Straw also raised the subject during testimony on Iran at the House of Commons' Select Committee of Foreign Affairs on February 8, 2006:

You asked also whether President Ahmadinejad is articulating a widespread desire by the Iranian people for a nuclear program. He is when it comes to a nuclear power program. It would be an error by everybody else if it was thought that it is unpopular in Iran for Iranian governments not to have an aspiration of a nuclear power program, it is popular, and it is popular with opponents of the regime as much as it is with supporters of the regime, let us be clear about that. Of course, President Ahmadinejad is playing on the suggestion—completely wrong—that we are trying to stop Iran developing a civil nuclear power program because he is aware of that aspiration. If I may detain the Committee for a moment, Chairman, you have got to understand how isolated Iran feels in that Iran is not an Arab state, it may be Muslim but just as in Europe there were religious wars between Catholics and Protestants, and one in our country over decades, centuries, so the fact they are Muslim does not mean that they have been immune from conflict between these states, internal conflicts over many decades, not least the Iran-Iraq war. Secondly, Iran feels over the last 100 years it has been humiliated by great powers, by the United Kingdom. There was this constitutional revolution in 1906 and in 1908 we came along backing the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and ensured that we got the lion's share of oil revenues and that went on for decades. We supported the Shah in what amounted to a takeover of that country and did not do anything when he implemented very crude anti-Islamic policies, including making it a criminal offence for women to wear even the hijab, the headscarf, on the street. We and the Soviet Union occupied the country for five years in the north from 1941-46 and then elements of British intelligence and the CIA stopped a perfectly democratic prime minister, Mossadegh, from office and failed to see the signs of the decadence of the Shah's regime and many Western countries, actually less so the United Kingdom and some continental countries, actively supported Iran in the Iran-Iraq war. You have got to see it from their point of view and if we do not see it from their point of view as well we will make mistakes in the way we handle this. As to whether there is widespread support for a nuclear weapon program, that we do not know because the Iranian Government consistently say that they do not want it and have no intention of having a nuclear weapon program.

JACK STRAW BIOGRAPHY - [www.pm.gov.uk]

Leader of the House of Commons, Lords Reform and Party Funding

Jack John Whitaker Straw

Jack Straw was appointed Leader of the House of Commons in May 2006 with responsibility for Lords Reform and Party Funding.

The Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) will support him in this new role. He will also chair the Constitutional Affairs and the Legislative Programme Committees which have a central role in the development of the Government's programme.

Previously he was Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Mr Straw was born in 1946 and educated at Brentwood School, Essex and Leeds University. He was called to the Bar in 1972. He is a visiting Fellow of Nuffield College Oxford and a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society.

Mr Straw was Home Secretary from 1997-2001. He was Shadow Home Secretary from 1995 to 1997.

From 1992-1994 he was Shadow Environment Secretary. And between 1987 and 1992 Mr Straw was Shadow Education Secretary.

From 1983-1987 he was Opposition spokesman on Local Government and from 1980-1983 on Treasury matters. He was a member of the Labour Party National Executive Committee from 1994-1995.

Mr Straw was President of Leeds University Students' Union from 1967-1968 and of the National Union of Students from 1969-1971. From 1971 to 1974 Mr Straw was a member of the Inner London Education Authority and Deputy Leader from 1973 to 1974.

Mr Straw worked as a barrister from 1972-1974 and was special adviser to Barbara Castle from 1974-1975 and to Peter Shore from 1976-1977. He also worked for Granada Television's World in Action programme from 1977-1979.

He is married with one son and one daughter. His recreations are walking, music, cooking puddings and supporting Blackburn Rovers.