The events which lead to my appearing on this program are very significant for all of us.

Just two days ago President Truman received a message from the Iranian Prime Minister welcoming the President’s offer of July 8 to send Mr. Harriman to Iran as the President’s personal representative, for consultations on the British-Iranian oil controversy. [W. Averell Harriman] Mr. Harriman has already started on a 7,000 mile airplane flight to Tehran, the capital of Iran. Shortly after his arrival there on Sunday he will meet with the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosadegh and with other high Iranian officials.

The question of Iranian oil is an extremely complex and controversial matter. The roots of this present crisis go back many years. Although the Soviets stand to benefit greatly from the Iranian oil dispute, the sources of the present difficulty are to be found primarily within Iran—not outside. They stem from the deep desire of the Iranian people to better their way of life, to eliminate poverty, illiteracy, and disease. A danger in Iran is that this understandable spirit of nationalism, and the legitimate desire of the Iranian nation to make greater benefits from its oil resources, may lead to hasty or emotional acts detrimental to the long-range best interests of Iran.

A stalemate between the parties to the dispute has now lasted for almost 6 weeks. As a result, no oil has left Iran for 3 weeks. The great Iranian oil production and refining industry, which constitutes Iran’s largest single source of income, is threatened with collapse—the consequences of which could be very serious indeed. The President, the Secretary of State, and the American press and radio have on numerous occasions in recent weeks emphasized the critical and urgent nature of the Iranian situation.

The United States for its part has a deep interest in the continued independence and territorial integrity of Iran. It has sought also to further the welfare and economic betterment of the Iranian people. When the Soviet Union left military forces in Iran in 1946, we gave strong support to the Iranian case in the UN Security Council. As a result of Iran’s steadfastness and of her support by the United Nations, in which the United States played an important role, Soviet troops were withdrawn. The Soviet objective of gaining control of Iran has, however, remained unaltered and Soviet pressures have continued unabated.

We can be sure that the Kremlin is losing no opportunity to fish in the troubled oil of Iran, for it would be a great and strategic prize quite apart from oil. Control of Iran, an area approximately as large as the United States east of the Mississippi River, would put the Soviet Union astride the communication routes connecting the free nations of Asia and Europe.

Thus the issues at stake in Iran go far beyond the question of oil, important as oil is for Iran and for the other nations of the free world. There are issues involved which affect the very foundations of law and justice which the free nations of the world have, during the 20th century, been trying so hard to establish as the basis for settling international disputes.

The United States consistently urged moderation on the part of the Iranian government and of the British oil interests. We are convinced, as the President said in a press conference 2 weeks ago, that there is plenty of opportunity for settlement of the oil controversy on a mutually satisfactory basis.

As personal representative of President Truman, Mr. Harriman is flying to Iran to learn as much as he can about the Iranian situation. He will attempt to carry out the President’s expressed desire “to be as helpful as possible in this circumstance.” He will consult with Iranian officials and report to the President.

We have no magic formula for solving this critical problem which has arisen between our two friends. We do hope that before it is too late—and time is very short—some arrangement, temporary if need be, can be found which will permit the Iranian nation to receive maximum benefit from the exploitation of its oil resources and the West to continue to make its contribution to the Iranian oil industry and to benefit from it.