The Persian Oil Dispute The Anglo-Persian dispute, considerably clarified, so
far as Geneva is concerned, by Sir John Simon's able presentation of the British case, has been handed over by the League Council to that most experienced of con- ciliators, Dr. Benes, who, as rapporieur, is trying to find a basis for agreement by consent. By all accounts definite progress in that direction is being achieved, and so it should be, for there is obviously room for some agreed variation of the existing agreement, as indeed the Anglo-Persian Oil Company has always conceded. What there is not room for is the arbitrary denunciation by one party of a sealed and signed contract. The difficulty, as has been pointed out here before, is that the deciding factor on the Persian side is the Shah, whose personality is sufficiently incalculable to make discussions which he ultimately controls a little difficult. But the prospect of an early settlement is good.
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