Letter to The Washington Post (Dec. 1, 1951)
| The Mossadegh Project | March 18, 2022 |
A Washington Post reader had this letter to the editor published soon after Mossadegh returned from his U.S. trip. He proposed that a U.S. loan to Britain be tied to reimbursement from future Iranian oil profits.
The Washington Post
Loan To Iran
Premier Mossadegh has returned home with the promise a loan for Iran will be considered by the United States.
It is currently reported that Prime Minister Churchill will arrive in January. [Winston Churchill] It is also reported that England is seeking a loan or gift, which will probably be granted.
English interests have been driven from Iran with the nationalization of the oil industry there, which is not flourishing with native management, hence the need for a loan.
It is therefore suggested that in return for a loan or gift, England assign to the United States its rights in Iranian oil fields. The United States should make the desired loan to Iran, provided that American experts be permitted to operate the oil fields under lease, recognizing Iran’s sovereignty and paying 75-90 percent of the net profits to Iran. These profits would be used for legitimate governmental expenses and for the benefit of the people of Iran as a whole and not for the further enrichment of already wealthy Iranians. The balance of the profits would be used for repayment of the loan to Iran and reimbursement for previous advances to it.
HENRY S. MERRICK.
Washington.
Related links:
Robert Gulick, Jr.: In Defense of Iran | Washington Star, July 1951 Letter
Iran’s Hero | Washington Evening Star, November 27, 1951
Twenty-Four Million To Iran | Letter to Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 24, 1952
MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”
