The most important thing to keep in mind with regard to Persia is that the trouble is Russian-fomented. Premier Mossadeq is an excellent example of the mentality of the East in that he is a living instance of the mind that never grows up. His idea was that all that was necessary to take over the millions of pounds worth of development, work carried out by British genius and industry, together with the applied skill, was to make a law to the effect that it belonged to Persia and the rest would be easy. Like the infant who persists in putting his finger in the fire he has discovered that there is such a thing as getting burnt. As the British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Morrison, put it: “There is a singular lack of grasp of realities.” [Herbert Morrison] Incidentally, it would not be foolish of Mr. Morrison to hold the mirror up to himself in this respect. The difference between him and Mossadeq is that the latter is a worse example of this inability to grasp realities. What has brought Mossadeq up with a round turn is the sudden stoppage by the company of the whole business, the refusal of the British workmen and experts to stay there, the defiance on their part of the seemingly clever sabotage law which he introduced. Mossadeq is now appealing to President Truman to come over and make the British workmen carry on with the job, for that is what it amounts to. Mossadeq, in common with his countrymen, know the Russians would like to have control of Persia and having endeavoured to commit an outrageous, wholesale robbery, he now endeavours to persuade President Truman to come and assist him in consummating the crime. He relies on the same motives as animate him and his countrymen, that the Americans would rather force the British to work the oilfield than permit the Russians to come in and take them over. It is an infantile outlook but there it is. Another sign that Mossadeq is beginning to realise that it takes something more than the mere passing of an act to compel people to work is the fact, he has now promised to repeal the act if the technicians and the rest of them will only stay on the job. He is still silly, for already the tankers have turned about and are sailing away from Abadan empty and despite the alleged gifts of gold from Russia, Persia wants money. It is another instance of childishness of a promise from a man who has just committed a great act of international knavery. One trouble is that many of the men around Mossadeq are agents for Russia and if he squibs the business now, he will find that there is a good deal of truth in what he had to say in the beginning, that people were after his life. It looks as if his days are numbered and no one need be sorry for him.