Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s Open Threat (1951)
| Arash Norouzi The Mossadegh Project | July 20, 2023 |
In September and October 1951, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company placed the following advertisement in oil and shipping trade journals, and newspapers and publications including The Wall Street Journal and The Economist. The British-owned installations in Abadan were nationalized in April, leading to a heated diplomatic confrontation between the two nations.
AIOC’s message warned potential buyers and transporters of Iranian oil that they risked legal action if they traded in what they considered stolen property.
• Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC/BP) | Archive
• International Court of Justice | Iran Archive
Announcement by
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Limited
It has been brought to the Company’s notice that the Government of Iran in disregard of its solemn obligations to the Company, of the recent Order of the International Court of Justice, and of its international obligations, attempts to sell crude oil and oil products derived from the area covered by the Convention of 29th April, 1933.
The Company is confident that no oil company of repute or any tanker owners or any brokers of standing will countenance any direct or indirect participation in the unlawful actions of the Iranian Government. Should, however, any concerns or individuals enter into transactions with the Iranian Government in regard to the oil products concerned, they are warned that this Company will take all such action as may be necessary to protect its rights in any country.
ANGLO-IRANIAN OIL COMPANY, LTD.
Britannic House, Finsbury Circus, London, E.C.2.
England
Related links:
Draft Resolution Submitted by the United Kingdom Delegation (Sept. 29, 1951)
Dumping Iran’s Oil Into Lap of Soviet Union | Boston Globe, Sept. 19, 1951
Stand For Justice In Iran | The Muncie Star, Oct. 5, 1951
MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”
