The family of Premier Mossadegh of Iran has denied a report that he is planning another trip to the United States. This, however, does not rule out the probability of an Iranian request for more monetary aid. If such aid would save Iran from bankruptcy, chaos and Communist seizure, it certainly would be in America’s best interest to give it. But everything points to the contrary. As things now stand, a new outpouring of American money minus radical changes in the Iranian situation would be tantamount to pounding sand into a rat hole.

If not an extreme supernationalist himself, Mossadegh is a prisoner of the extreme supernationalists and other fanatics who in turn have let themselves become tools of the Communist Tudeh party. These fanatics will no more let Mossadegh make a reasonable settlement of the oil dispute than they tolerated the efforts of Ahmed Qavam in that direction after he recently reassumed the premiership for a brief and stormy period. [Ahmad Ghavam] Moreover, it begins to appear that the Shah of Iran has lost much of his good influence.

Although supposedly an illegal party, the Tudeh has been operating with alarming boldness in egging on Iranian fanatics in their rush toward disaster. It seems clear that the Kremlin regards the elements who rule Mossadegh and negate the Shah’s influence as its best weapon in gaining control of Iran.

Under these circumstances it would be foolish to give Mossadegh another handout. Without a drastic change in conditions, American aid won’t save Iran from the Kremlin now. Indeed, the way things are going, such aid eventually would wind up in Stalin’s hands. [Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin]

There seems to be no easy solution to the Iranian crisis. Needed are bold and imaginative moves on the part of Britain and the United States involving the whole Middle East, coupled with a reign of reason in Iran. Additional Yankee dollars for Mossadegh will, in themselves, work no magic, and he should be told that America is no longer paying ransom to foreign regimes which threaten to turn to the Kremlin enemy for help when things don’t go to suit them.