UNITED States officials would be something less than human if they were not secretly elated by the military coup against the government of Premier Mossadegh of Iran.

Mossadegh stubbornly and repeatedly had refuted to come to terms with Britain in the Anglo-Iranian oil dispute. And of late he had accepted the support of the Tudeh political party, which is the Communist party of Iran. [How so?]

The Shah, whose army followers executed the coup, tends to be pro-American, although he, of course, will take care of himself, his country and his people first. But he would be an improvement over Mossadegh.

American officials cannot chortle publicly, for Moscow already has accused the United States of planning and financing the overthrow of Mossadegh. The Soviet press and radio currently is peddling that propaganda in an attempt to antagonize the Iranian good will for Russia.

Confronted with such imaginative charges, United States officials can do nothing but shrug their shoulders and tell the truth, which is that this country has observed strict neutrality in the struggle between Mossadegh and the Shah. But they can’t help hoping the Shah will be able to hang on to the Iranian government for that country needs a reign of reason following Mossadegh’s term of obstinacy. [shrug!]