Archive of Related Memos, Cables, Etc. (1953-54)
The Mossadegh Project |

Archive of U.S., British and Iranian documents on the Iran Oil Consortium Agreement of 1954. Includes memos, cables, correspondence, media and editorials. The transcribed documents are supplemented with in-depth analysis, footnotes, annotations and other background information, with regular updates to follow.
• U.S. State Department Documents on Iran | 1951-1954
• National Security Council (NSC) documents on Iran
• British Foreign Office documents on Iran
• Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC/BP) | Archive
Sir William Fraser’s Statement To AIOC Stockholders | May 1954
Statement by Anglo-Iranian Oil Company | August 5, 1954
AIOC’s Name Changed to British Petroleum Co., Ltd. | December 23, 1954
Sec. Dulles and Anthony Eden’s Messages on Iran Oil Deal | August 5, 1954
Winston Churchill and the Shah Hail Anglo-Persian Friendship | Aug. 7, 1954
Pierson Dixon, Henry Byroade Discuss Iran in Bermuda | December 8, 1953
Persian Oil: Anthony Eden Confirms Iran Oil Consortium Plans | Jan. 4, 1954
Anthony Eden’s Meeting With Sir William Fraser on Iranian Oil | Jan. 11, 1954
Relations Between the Shah and Her Majesty’s Embassy at Tehran | Jan. 16, 1954
Anthony Eden: AIOC Deserves 44% Share of Iranian Oil | February 22, 1954
Cabinet Talks Percentage, Compensation Re: Iranian Oil | March 17, 1954
Abdollah Entezam’s “Interview” With Shapoor Reporter | March 27, 1954
U.S., British Officials Iron Out Consortium Wrinkles | June 15, 1954
Iran Oil Consortium Nearing Agreement | Anthony Eden | July 27, 1954
British Foreign Office Statement on Iran Oil Consortium | August 5, 1954
Joint Statement by Iranian and United Kingdom Delegations | August 5, 1954
Anglo-Persian Diplomatic Relations (Resumption) | December 7, 1953
Persian Oil Agreement | November 1, 1954
1955 British General Election (excerpt)
“On taking office we faced difficult and dangerous situations in Persia and Egypt. Today there are agreements with both these countries. That with Egypt has enabled us to redeploy our forces. That with Persia has meant that oil is flowing from Abadan once again. Our prestige throughout this area has been restored. Thus we have a better chance to continue helping the countries of the Middle East in their plans both for defence and for economic development, and also to work for a reconciliation between the Arab States and Israel.”
Immediate Prospects In Iran | August 27, 1953
Immediate Prospects In Iran (State Dept. Review Completed) | Aug. 27, 1953
The Situation In Iran | September 1953
Causes and Circumstances of Mossadeq’s Downfall | October 5, 1953
The Co-op Position in a Possible Oil Settlement | October 13, 1953
Probable Developments in Iran through 1954 | November 10, 1953
Tudeh Party Reaction To Nixon Visit and Resumption of Iranian-British Relations | December 15, 1953
Iranian Oil Production | December 30, 1953
Iran [Undated Memo Four Months After 1953 Coup] | Dec. 1953-Jan. 1954
The Outlook In Iran | March 5, 1954
Consequences In Iran of a Failure to Achieve an Early Settlement | March 29, 1954
United States Policy Toward Iran | April 14, 1954
Iranian Reactions To Oil Consortium Proposals | April 28, 1954
Status of Iranian Oil Negotiations | June 18, 1954
Status of Iranian Oil Negotiations | June 25, 1954
Status of Iranian Oil Negotiations | July 2, 1954
CIA Propaganda and Psy-Ops in Iran To Help Zahedi Survive | July 8, 1954
Status of Iranian Oil Negotiations | July 9, 1954
Status of Iranian Oil Negotiations | July 23, 1954
Status of Iranian Oil Negotiations | July 30, 1954
Conclusion of Iranian Oil Negotiations | August 6, 1954
Economic Situation | August 18, 1954
Progress Report on NSC 5402 (Iran) | October 13, 1954
Probable Developments In Iran Through 1955 | December 7, 1954
The Situation In Iran | December 28, 1953
The Situation In Iran | December 30, 1953
Status of Iranian Oil Negotiations | May 25, 1954
Impending Political Crisis In Iran | June 15, 1954
Prior to Coup, U.S. Seeks Understanding With British on Oil
September 18, 1953
Army Morale: Loy Henderson Counsels Iran’s Shah After Coup
September 23, 1953
Dulles to Henderson on Strategy For Marketing Iranian Oil
September 29, 1953
U.S. Considers 2-Year World Bank Takeover of Iranian Oil
October 29, 1953
Amb. Henderson and Hoover’s Dinner With Zahedi, Entezam
November 2, 1953
Abdollah Entezam Outlines Iran’s Position on Oil
November 5, 1953
Winthrop W. Aldrich on Meeting With British Re: Iran Oil
December 8, 1953
State Dept. Legal Adviser Herman Phleger on Iran Oil Talks
February 8, 1954
American Policy in the Middle East During 1953
February 16, 1954
Livingston T. Merchant to Sec. Dulles on AIOC Percentage
April 13, 1954
Loy Henderson Assures the Shah of British Sincerity
May 15, 1954
John D. Jernegan on Iranian Oil Consortium Talks
May 17, 1954
Loy Henderson on Iran Oil Consortium Details
August 3, 1954
Sec. Dulles’ Message to Eisenhower Re: Iran Oil Deal
August 5, 1954
John Foster Dulles Heralds “A New Era For Iran”
Statement by Amb. Loy Henderson on Iran Oil Deal
Sec. of State Dulles Congratulates Entezam, Zahedi
Text of Aide-Mémoire, Joint British-Iranian Statement
Sec. Dulles and Anthony Eden’s Messages on Iran Oil Deal
Amb. Loy Henderson Forwards British-Iranian Statement on Compensation
October 28, 1954
U.S. Says Oil Deal Is A “Significant Victory” For Iran
Iranian Oil Agreement | State Dept. Press Release
November 22, 1954
FOA Announces Program of Aid to Iran
December 7, 1954
Arrangements for Participation in Iranian Oil Consortium
Eisenhower Praises Herbert Hoover, Jr. For Oil Settlement | August 4, 1954
Eisenhower and Shah Trade Compliments After Iran Oil Deal | August 5, 1954
President Dwight D. Eisenhower Press Conference | August 11, 1954
Joint British-Iranian Statement on Compensation | Aug. 5, 1954
Joint British-Iranian Statement on Payments | August 5, 1954
The Shah of Iran’s Reply To Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower | August 5, 1954
Ali Amini’s Statement on the Iran Oil Consortium Deal | August 5, 1954
Anthony Eden, Abdollah Entezam’s Messages on Iran Oil Deal | Aug. 5, 1954
The Shah and Winston Churchill Hail Anglo-Persian Friendship | Aug. 7, 1954
Foreign Minister Abdollah Entezam to John Foster Dulles | August 9, 1954
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Winthrop W. Aldrich (Ambassador to the United Kingdom)
Herbert Brownell, Jr. (Attorney General)
William Walton Butterworth (U.S. diplomat)
Henry Byroade (Assistant Sec. of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs)
Charles Pearre Cabell (Deputy Director, CIA)
Robert Cutler (Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs)
John Foster Dulles (Secretary of State)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (U.S. President)
Loy Henderson (U.S. Ambassador to Iran)
Herbert Hoover, Jr. (Special Envoy, Under Secretary of State)
John D. Jernegan (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs)
Donald D. Kennedy (Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs)
Livingston T. Merchant (Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs)
Robert Daniel Murphy (Deputy Under Secretary of State)
Herman Phleger (State Dept. Legal Advisor)
Huntington D. Sheldon (CIA)
Charles Erwin Wilson (U.S. Secretary of Defense)
BRITISH GOVERNMENT
Richard Austen Butler (Chancellor of the Exchequer)
Sir Harold Caccia (UK diplomat)
Winston Churchill (Prime Minister)
Pierson Dixon (Deputy Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs)
Anthony Eden (Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs)
Christopher Gandy (UK diplomat)
John Redcliffe-Maud (UK diplomat)
Edward Wilder Playfair (British Treasury official)
Evelyn Shuckburgh (UK diplomat)
Roger Stevens (Ambassador to Iran)
Denis Wright (Charge d’Affaires)
IRANIAN GOVERNMENT
Hossein Ala (Minister of Court)
Ali Amini (Minister of Finance)
Abdollah Entezam (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Shah of Iran)
Fazlollah Zahedi (Prime Minister)
ANGLO-IRANIAN OIL COMPANY (BP)
Peter Thomas Cox (Chief Geologist)
William Fraser (Chairman)
Neville Gass
Elihu Lauterpacht (AIOC Legal Team)
Leonard Rice
Hartley Shawcross (AIOC Legal Team)
Harold Snow
DUTCH OIL COMPANIES
L. E. J. Brouwer
FRENCH OIL COMPANIES
Frédéric Berbigier (CFP)
U.S. OIL COMPANIES
Gwin Follis (Standard Oil of California)
Orville Harden (Standard Oil of New Jersey)
Brewster Jennings (Socony)
John Loudon (Shell)
Howard Page (Standard Oil of New Jersey)
Torkild Rieber (former Texaco chairman)
New Hope In Persia | September 10, 1953
Progress In Iran | October 11, 1953
Persia Looks To The West | November 3, 1953
U.S. Consultant Provides New Hope In Iran Oil Dispute | November 4, 1953
Britain, New Iranian Regime Closer to Oil Settlement | November 25, 1953
Realism In Persia | December 7, 1953
Politics And Oil In Persia | December 7, 1953
Britain And Persia | December 8, 1953
Hopeful Developments In Trouble Spots | December 10, 1953
Seeking Agreement On Oil | December 22, 1953
Iran Back in Business | February 2, 1954
Persian Oil | February 11, 1954
Iranian Oil | March 24, 1954
Iran’s Nose | April 20, 1954
New Chance For Iran | April 26, 1954
Iranian Oil: Three Little Words | July 6, 1954
Oil To Flow Again | July 20, 1954
Persian Oil | July 21, 1954
Persia’s Lesson | July 21, 1954
Hopeful Signs In Two Danger Areas | July 21, 1954
Iran Looks Ahead | July 26, 1954
Iranian Oil Deal a New Victory for Free World | August 6, 1954
Iran Faces the Future | August 6, 1954
American Diplomacy Guided The Happy Solution In Iran | August 6, 1954
Iran Makes A Point For The Ways Of The West | August 6, 1954
The Iranian Accord | August 6, 1954
Agreement on Iranian Oil Is Welcome to U.S. Taxpayers | August 6, 1954
Steal or Settlement? | August 6, 1954
Iran Oil Dispute Ends | August 9, 1954
Persia Gets New Start | August 9, 1954
A Step Ahead in Iran | August 9, 1954
Fingers Crossed | August 11, 1954
Agreement In Iran | August 11, 1954
Important Settlement | August 12, 1954
The Persian Oil Agreement | August 19, 1954
Fair Oil Settlement Essential to Iran’s Stability | August 24, 1954
Iran Should Help Herself by Ending Oil Dispute | September 3, 1954
Costly Stubbornness | September 12, 1954
Iran Sees Reason | October 5, 1954
Oil From Iran | October 29, 1954
U.S. Will Be One Beneficiary of Iran’s Oil Renaissance | November 1, 1954
Oil From Persia | November 1, 1954
Price of ‘Gas’ Involved | November 2, 1954
A Tanker Loads At Abadan | November 2, 1954
Oil Peace in Iran | November 8, 1954
Iran Oil Flows Again | November 16, 1954
West’s Iran Problem Has Been Cleared Up | February 20, 1956
British Press Reactions To 1954 Iran Oil Consortium | August 9, 1954
Proud Brit Hails Iran Oil Deal As English Victory | August 16, 1954
Zahedi Wants Foreign Experts To Run Oil Wells (AP) | Sept. 29, 1953
Oil Pact Insults Iran, Mossadegh Says in Jail (AP) | September 9, 1954
A Happy Event | The Spectator, August 12, 1954
The Road to Abadan | The Spectator, August 15, 1954
Persian Oil Flows Again | The Spectator, November 5, 1954
Related links:
President Harry Truman | media and editorial archive
Mossadegh Slept Here: A Fateful Convergence At Walter Reed Hospital
Estimate of the Political Strength of the Mosadeq Government (May 1951)
MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”




