HC Deb 19 March 1951 vol 485 cc222-3W
59. Surgeon Lieut.-Commander Bennett

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made in the negotiations for a new agreement on oil with the Persian Government.

67. Mr. P. Thorneycroft

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what reply he has received to the Note presented to the Persian Government upon the subject of the proposed nationalisation of the British oil interests in Persia.

Mr. Younger

No reply has been received from the Persian Government to the Note presented to them on 14th March by His Majesty's Ambassador in Tehran. A copy of that Note was made available in the Library on 16th March.

As I have explained, the Lower House of the Persian Legislature has unanimously passed a resolution to the effect that a proposal that the oil industry throughout the country should be nationalised has received its "attention and acceptance," and the Commission has been granted two months (beginning, we understand, from 14th April) in which to examine the application of the principle of nationalisation. The Upper House of the Legislature is understood now to be considering the question.

For their part, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company remain prepared—as I indicated in my answer on 14th March—to discuss an agreement on the basis of what may be described as an equal sharing of profits in Persia.

I recognise that this matter has aroused great interest, and I will do my best to keep the House informed of developments.