Had the Anglo-Iranian dispute come before the United Nations last June popular sympathy would undoubtedly have been with the frail, quixotic little man who has come to epitomize the understandable but overly fanatic nationalism that grips that Middle Eastern country. Premier Mohammed Mossadegh, for all his shrill arrogance, his alternate roarings and faintings, was then a symbol of Iran’s determination to control its own oil industry, and it seemed apparent, even then, that the British were moving far too slowly and reluctantly in facing up to realities in the Middle East.

Now the balance has swung away a bit. The really serious attempt by the British to a settlement in August, although far too late, was undertaken in good faith. The mediation of Mr. Averell Harriman was accepted, and the Iranian Government might then have retrieved the situation at what was the last minute. But Dr. Mossadegh and his advisers permitted themselves to remain the prisoners of their own extreme statements. They gave too little evidence of a willingness to treat with the British on any sort of common-sense basis. They grandly waved aside the restraining order of the International Court of Justice. Finally, last week, they cemented their intransigence firmly by forcing the last British technicians from the refinery at Abadan.

As a result, Dr. Mossadegh comes to this country still in a technically strong position, so far as being the champion of a consistent xenophobia is concerned. But he comes in a far weaker spot if he really hopes, as he professes, to achieve some sort of settlement. It is difficult to see how Dr. Mossadegh, after rejecting the jurisdiction of the World Court, and similarly denying the jurisdiction of the Security Council over what he calls an “internal” matter, can do other than oppose any effective United Nations action.

And that leaves only one hope — that between now and Thursday the intensive informal activity that will go on behind the scenes will lead to a resumption of the August talks on a calmer basis. It is a slim hope indeed, and even if they are resumed it seems an even slimmer one that a settlement can be reached. But it is the only one that exists at this late hour.