Incendiary Times
The Mercury — August 6, 1952

The Mossadegh Project | July 21, 2017                          


The lead editorial in The Mercury newspaper of Hobart, Tasmania in Australia, following the July 21st 30 Tir episode in Tehran.

Australian media archive



PERSIAN TIME BOMB

To all appearances Dr. Mossadeq has become the unchallenged master of Persia. But it is a deceptive picture, and a dangerous one.

Dr. Mossadeq is far from being a dictator, despite his dictatorial powers. The Communists, the only organised party in the country, are already beginning to rule from behind the scenes.

For the next six months Dr. Mossadeq will not be subject to Parliament. He can act as he thinks fit to carry out his plans for far-reaching political and social reforms. The programme has renewed his hold on the imagination of the people, but it is hard to see how he can finance it with an almost empty Treasury.

There is no doubt the Communists are using Dr. Mossadeq. They organised the riots which brought down Ghavam es Sultaneh, [Ahmad Ghavam] and it is rather surprising they did not seize power immediately. Evidently they felt the time was not yet ripe.

The Communists are confident that Dr. Mossadeq will soon create the situation they are waiting for. They calculate that the continued loss of oil revenues will bring bankruptcy and distress, and that when Dr. Mossadeq has been discredited by failing to fulfil [sic] his promises they can take over without trouble.

A time bomb is ticking away in Persia. Mr. Eden [British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden] has warned that the Persian problem is potentially graver than the war in Korea. The prospect of the country falling under Communist control should spur the Western Powers into immediate action.

There can be no question of armed intervention against a coup engineered from within. Allied diplomacy must strive to find a way to prevent Russia from fulfilling a century-old ambition to extend her power to the Persian Gulf.

Vernon Walters Amuses Crowd With Mossadegh Stories (1974)

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Related links:

Mossadeq Still In Saddle | The Mercury, March 4, 1953

CIA Diary: Mossadegh “Crazy Like A Fox”, Willing To Deal With U.S. (July 30, 1952)

Hopes Wrecked In Persia | The Advocate, July 24, 1952



MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”

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