By Sarah Khan
The June 2010 debate on Iran sanctions in the UN Security Council recalls another moment nearly sixty years earlier when Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh came to New York to argue Iran's case in the Council chambers. The dispute then, like the present one, involved sanctions, affirmations of Iranian sovereignty, and the assertion of great power demands and interests.
At stake was the nationalization by Mossadegh's government of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, a move that was immensely popular in Iran, but firmly opposed by London, where British control of Iranian oil was considered a matter of strategic national interest. Following the nationalization in March-April 1951, Britain imposed a worldwide embargo on Iranian oil, making it impossible for Iran to sell its most important export. Britain also froze Iran's sterling assets, banned exports to Iran, reinforced British naval forces in the Persian Gulf, entered a case against the nationalization in the World Court, and eventually in September lodged a complaint against Iran in the UN Security Council.
In October 1951, with Britain offering a revised resolution to the Council, Prime Minister Mossadegh traveled to New York to defend his country's position. His nation's economy was reeling from the embargo, and he was personally in ill health, but he came at his personal expense to stop a Council decision that would aggravate Iran's crisis and define the country as a violator of international law. During his trip, Mossadegh took the opportunity to visit Washington, where he met with US President Harry Truman, hoping to win over the US president and gain support against British pressure.
Mossadegh misjudged US interests in the matter. Though the US blocked the UK resolution in the Council, Washington was keen to stop nationalizations of oil, as it had powerful companies of its own to protect. Mexico had expropriated US oil company assets in 1938 and Washington was keen to prevent any repeat of this calamity. Eventually, in August 1953, the CIA carried out a coup against the Mossdegh government, driving out the elected leader and re-installing the autocratic pro-Western Shan on the Iranian throne.
Mossadegh's famous speech to the Council in 1951 was recalled by the Iranian speaker in the Council's debate on June 9, 2010. The records of the 560th session of the Council, held on October 15, 1951, contain the long, passionate speech by Mossadegh (some of which was read by the Iranian ambassador Allahyar Saleh). Sir Gladwyn Jebb, the UK Ambassador to the UN, did his best to discredit the Iranian position and to argue that Iran had acted impetuously, unfairly and illegally. Mossadegh, for his part, affirmed the right of his county to control its mineral assets, and he provided plenty of evidence that the British government-controlled company had been operating for fifty years with very little benefit to the people of Iran.
Furthermore, Mossadegh expressed great concern about the British naval build-up in the Gulf and the threat to international peace that it posed. Interestingly enough, Turkey and Brazil had seats on the Security Council in 1951 as they also do in 2010. But their roles were far more cautious in 1951. In the earlier episode, the Brazilian representative expressed support for a resolution moved by the UK and the Turkish representative chose to remain silent. However, the Ecuadorian ambassador, Dr. Antonia Quevedo, gave Iran a strong voice of support.
The UK government, failing to thwart Mossadegh's nationalization plan through economic embargoes or a Security Council resolution, turned to the United States for active help. The United States refused to lend support to a British coup, which eventually failed. Later, the CIA acted on its own to overthrow Mossadegh. Washington then insisted that US oil companies get a share in the newly de-nationalized Iranian company, a demand that Britain was forced to accept. Ironically, the foundations for Iran's nuclear enrichment were laid in the wake of the coup. At the instigation of Washington, the Shah signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the US in 1957 and made further plans in the 1970s for the construction of 20 nuclear power stations. The overthrow of the Shah in 1979 put an end to these plans and to Washington's enthusiasm for a nuclear Iran.
You can access the complete proceedings of the 560th Meeting of the UN Security Council here: Five_Hundred_and_Sixtieth_Meeting.pdf
