Premier Mossadegh’s severing of diplomatic relations with Great Britain is another dramatic climax in his holdout for an oil settlement satisfactory to Iran. As Mossadegh has made clear in his statement to his people, he wants to keep the door open for negotiation. His government remains desperately in need of money.

Mossadegh has no intention of allowing Stalin to enter the bidding for Iran. But he has used that contingency as a bargaining point with the West in order to get the best possible price. He has tried dramatic threats before in his attempt to raise Britain’s ante. This latest act is the most dramatic to date.

The situation, however, remains essentially unchanged. The break in relations will not give Mossadegh his money. Britain loses nothing that was not already lost. Stalin is still uninvited . . . And the oil fields remain idle.

The word “drama” connotes action. But Mossadegh’s latest drama has not brought the plot one inch closer to a solution.