After two years of worry about Iran, the overthrow of the Shah could be regarded as an anticlimax—as a scene from a comic opera—except for one sickening fact.

Dr. Mossadegh’s demonstration of power was openly applauded by Iranian Communists, supposedly an outlawed party. When Mossadegh began making faces at the British when he expropriated the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, when he side-stepped every compromise offered by the United States and Great Britain, the West moved carefully for fear of Iran—and Iran’s oil—passing into Russian control.

Mossadegh was handled with kid gloves. At the same time Iranian oil was kept from world markets. Naturally the Iranian economy became more and more shaky as revenues dwindled and virtually disappeared. But that was what was intended: Mossadegh needed a lesson.

The wily old politician had other ideas. When opposition to his regime arose he slapped it down. Despite the damage his policies caused his country, he maintained his popular strength, and now he has apparently toppled the Shah — the last personage of any consequence who could be called pro-Western.

The ultimate cost can only be guessed. Communist cheers for the Shah’s exile indicate that Communists helped Mossadegh in his latest venture. If that is so the Red tide is running strong. On the other hand, Mossadegh having outwitted opponents external and internal, may be quite capable of besting the Kremlin too. His resources are amazing. His abilities can’t be discounted.

But if the Kremlin chooses to get tough — and it can be tough where the West has to be diplomatic — the Mossadegh story can have a disastrous ending.