§ Mr. Eden(by Private Notice) asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any statement to make on the present situation in Persia.
§ Mr. H. MorrisonYes, Sir. There have been few developments in the Persian oil situation since my statement on 29th May. The Persian Government have still not replied to our aide-mémoire of 19th May nor sent us any other official communication on the subject. On the other hand, the Persian Minister of Finance, on 30th May, handed to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company's Manager in Teheran an aide-mémoire setting out the views of the Persian Government on the steps to be taken to put into force the Persian laws on the nationalisation of the oil industry, and stating that, as the Government wished to take advantage of the Company's experience and knowledge, they invited the Company to put forward within five days any proposals they might have, within the framework of the nationalisation laws.
Yesterday, the Company's Teheran Manager, on instructions which had thefull approval of His Majesty's Government, handed the Minister of Finance a reply in which the Company, whilst, of course, reserving its full legal rights, proposed to send out representatives to Teheran as soon as possible to discuss the whole question with the Persian authorities, though it was pointed out that this could not be done within five days in view of the complicated nature of the issues involved. The substance of these two communications has already appeared in the Press. The composition of the company's Mission will, I hope, be made known shortly.
Meanwhile, His Majesty's Ambassador at Teheran, on my instructions, has again made it clear to the Persian Prime Minister that we cannot accept his contention that the dispute is solely between the Persian Government and the Company, but on the contrary, as has repeatedly been made clear, His Majesty's Government have every right to intervene in defence of this great British interest in Persia, and, moreover, have an important interest in the matter by reason of their majority holding in the Company.
688 That is how the matter now stands. His Majesty's Government hope that the Company's mission may be able in the course of the proposed discussions to bring the Persian authorities to a fuller realisation of all the many and complex problems which have to be faced, and that this may lay the foundations for a satisfactory settlement. His Majesty's Government will, of course, remain in the closest touch with the Company, as they have been throughout.
§ Mr. EdenI am obliged to the right hon. Gentleman for keeping us informed. No doubt he will be good enough to continue to do so while the present situation persists. May I ask the right hon. Gentleman to accept that we were particularly glad to hear his observations about the interest of His Majesty's Government in this matter? While it is a good thing that the Company's representatives should talk to the Persians about the situation, there seemed to some of us to be a certain danger that the Persians would interpret that as meaning that His Majesty's Government were not interested. In view of the decisions which we had taken, that obviously could not be so. I should like to say that His Majesty's Opposition are in agreement with His Majesty's Government on this matter.