Reportedly Prime Minister Mossadegh of Iran is coming back to the United States for a return engagement of his fawning-fainting act over Iranian oil. In the meantime, the economy of Iran has deteriorated, the Communist Tudeh party has become a political factor, and Mossadegh, once removed from the scene for a while, is back again stronger than ever. Today, however, the strength of Mossadegh is largely the strength of the Communist Tudeh party — or the strength of Moscow.

So this man will have to be handled gingerly in the hope that somehow he can be developed into a friend of the West, yet without alienating the support of the more fanatical elements of Iran, including the Communists. The report that Mossadegh is coming to the United States is linked to the authority yesterday granted Mossadegh to run the economy of Iran with an iron hand. This could mean that the temper of the Mossadegh mission to the United States will be somewhat more tractable. If the desperate state of the Iranian economy calls for desperate measures then all is possible, even a perfectly reasonable deal with the West for exploitation of Iranian oil.

Western and Middle Eastern differences are not, of course, solely up to the principals to resolve. The whole Middle East boiling pot is a witches’ brew stirred vigorously from Moscow. The Communist Tudeh fanatics are not nationalists but internationalists. Third Internationalists. They will not be for any settlement which will relieve the economy of Iran, least of all a settlement with the West. They will be for chaos and mere chaos until, in the sweet name of democracy, they could step in and put the chains on the Iranians. These chains are made in Moscow.

All in all, Premier Mossadegh, arriving late in September, will present quite a problem to Washington in the midst of a presidential election campaign.