A five-man mission from the International Bank will leave Iran tomorrow having failed to obtain endorsement of its plan to take over management of Iranian oil facilities on an interim basis. The decree in which Iran’s Premier, Dr. Mossadegh, reports the failure leaves the way open for a renewal of discussions if the bank’s subsequent report to Washington appears to warrant it.

Though a renewal of negotiation is thought unlikely, the differences between the parties were not wide enough to cause an irreparable rupture. The bank, for example, is reported as insisting on rehiring British oil experts to run the operation under its management, when it would appear that Iranian feelings would be less ruffled by employing Dutch or Swedish engineers who have had no association with the nationalization dispute. This difficulty should hardly be insuperable.

For its part, Iran would have the bank manage the facilities in the name of Iran, a position which the bank, an international agency, would understandably be unwilling to accept. The price to be charged for oil was another point of disagreement on which the parties were separated only by the difference between one third and one fifth.

The bank was insistent on a 33 per cent reduction, while Iran was prepared to give only 20 per cent for crude oil in the Persian Gulf and 25 per cent on refined oil over Mexican Gulf prices. With a little more give and take it might have been possible to get together on this point.

Allowances must be made for Dr. Mossadegh’s temperament and for the political necessities in his own country which require him to hold out against the foreign “interests.” Still it is important to have the oil from Iranian wells moving into the stream of Western commerce, and that is a point which the World Bank negotiators could properly have balanced against concessions on other matters.