Dictator Mossadegh, whose high-handed direction of Iranian affairs has kept that important middle east nation in turmoil, has been deposed by enraged supporters of the exiled Shah in a bloody coup which reportedly resulted in the death of the premier’s key defenders.

An abortive coup by the Shah’s supporters earlier had seemed to place Mossadegh more firmly in power when the ruler and his consort found it expedient to flee to Rome.

But the young Shah, who is said to be very popular with his people, had strong defenders who seem to have been infuriated at the exile of their ruler. The latest outbreak of street fighting in Tehran, which, if confirmed, has resulted in the deaths of many of Mossadegh’s guards and his foreign minister, appears to have paved the way for return of the Shah and the institution of stable government.

Iran has been in ferment since Mossadegh cancelled foreign oil leases on the ground that the people were being robbed of the proceeds of the country’s great natural resource. He promised to operate the oil wells for the greater benefit of the people and to raise their standard of living. However, he had never been able to fulfill his promises and the country, deprived of the revenues from the oil leases, found itself in a growing financial crisis which contributed to popular unrest. The flames of this situation reportedly were fanned by Russian Communists upon whose promises of financial and technical aid Mossadegh reportedly leaned, but which never materialized.

The latest reports from the war-torn nation report that the premier had effected his escape from the besieged and burning palace in which he took refuge. Whether he reached comparative safety is not yet clear, but in any event, his government appears to have been effectually ousted.

If the Shah and his supporters are successful in consolidating their victory and establishing stable conditions, it seems highly probable that a checkmate will have been made to Russian efforts to extend influence to this oil rich country and there is at least the possibility that the oil leases may be renewed.

Thus Mossadegh appears to have joined the procession of ruthless dictators who have passed from power by virtue of their own excesses. The following extracts from a recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal appearing prior to this latest development have a prophetic slant which makes interesting reading.

“Dictators come in various sizes and shapes, but they all come the same way. They come like Mossadegh by emotional appeals to their countrymen and their designs are always the same: A search for complete power.

“Mussolini was vain and pompous and he appealed to his people’s pride by promising to bring again the grandeur that was Rome. [Italian fascist Benito Mussolini]

“Hitler, the cruel fanatic, was an egoist who talked of a race destined to master the world, and his people believed he foretold their destiny. [German Nazi Adolf Hitler] “Stalin was ruthless, silent and cunning, but when he spoke to his people he was always the little father of the Russians, posing as the man who had dedicated his life to bringing about the greatest good, for the greatest number. [Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin]

“Even [Louisiana governor] Huey Long, who cussed and talked of corn pone wars, promised to make every man a king and the people at the crossroads and creek forks believed him.

“Peron appealed to his shirtless ones and rode to vast and dictatorial power. [Argentine dictator Juan Perón]

“Mossadegh puts a different twist to all of this, but the appeal is just the same. The Iranian premier plays on the sympathies of his people; he is bedridden and he faints and swoons to get the support of his country for his plans. He seized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company through appeals to national pride and cupidity. He told his people that the British were stealing their oil and that he would make them richer. Instead, they are poorer.

“When some opposition to his demands for more and more power arose in the Iranian parliament, his followers simply stayed away and, since there was no quorum, parliament was helpless.

“Mossadegh has had the support of the Communists in all these things and as his power grew he knew that eventually the young Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, would have to go. [Mohammad Reza Pahlavi] And the young Shah knew also that one or the other would have to go.

“Over the weekend, the showdown came. It is difficult to say just how it happened, but both sides agree that the young Shah tried to depose Mossadegh. The premier’s government reports that members of the imperial guard, sent to arrest Mossadegh, were themselves disarmed and arrested by his personal bodyguards. The Shah and his empress [Soraya] fled to Iraq, and Major General Zahedi, the man he named as premier, is hunted in the mountains. [Fazlollah Zahedi] Zahedi had the paper naming him premier, but Mossadegh had the power.

“Mossadegh has now dissolved the parliament and it is not hard to guess that in the new one no voices will question whatever he wants done. Today he holds Iran’s fate and fortune in his thin hands. He has achieved what he sought: Complete power. It is clear that he had to achieve it to keep what power he already had.

“Like all the dictators before him, he had played on his people’s pride and promised them he would do things he could not do, any more than Mussolini could revive the Roman empire or Hitler could rule the world. And when a man with some power cannot please all his people or carry out his foolish promises, he must have complete power to quiet their mutterings. The way of quieting the mutterings is always the same and the end is always the loss of whatever liberties the people had before.”