Persian Oil
Sit.—In the Spectator of March 16th, Mr. Philips Price gave an account of the oil royalties' relationship to the economic development plans in Persia. It was not, of course, General Razmara who was responsible for the schemes to finance these plans. These were comprised in the " Seven Years' Plan " which was drawn up long before General Razmara came to power. Its finance could not be secured, as Mr. Price asserts, by the new agreement with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, although the royalties were one of the principal sources of funds. It was, in fact, because the royalty provided such inadequate returns to the Iranians that they were impelled to reject the supplementary agreement, despite the desperate need of the country, as demonstrated by their own and United Nations reports. Urgent necessities might have been expected to exercise such pressure as to compel acceptance of any offer which gave slightly better terms. It is one of the most striking features of the long-drawn-out struggle for more advantageous conditions that such strong feeling has manifested itself obstinately against any appearance of giving in to what seemed to be unfair terms—and this in spite of the country's privations.
It was not the success of the great oil concern on the Gulf that was galling, as Mr. Price suggests, but that a just share in that success was being denied to the Iranians. Some of us who have known the past history of the Iranian Government's relationships with the Oil Company will continue to believe that, had the offer of an equal share of the profits in Persian oil exploitation, now reported, been made some two years ago by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, that offer would have been gladly accepted and a first-class political crisis would have been avoided.
The Americans, on the other side of the Persian Gulf, have shown wisdom and imagination in their handling of oil exploitation on co-part- nership lines. For the failure to achieve something similar in Persia the Persians cannot be held wholly responsible, nor for the indignation and sense of frustration that has finally exploded so violently.—Yours
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