View source for Nationalization of the Iranian oil industry

{{short description|Nationalization of oil companies in Iran in 1951}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}}
[[File:AIOC741330.jpg|300px|thumb|[[NIOC]] directorate enters the AIOC building in [[Abadan]], June 20, 1951.]]
The '''nationalization of the Iranian oil industry''' ({{langx|fa|نهضت ملی شدن صنعت نفت ایران}}) resulted from a movement in the [[National Consultative Majlis|Iranian parliament (Majlis)]] to seize control of [[Pahlavi Iran|Iran]]'s oil industry, which had been run by private companies, largely controlled by foreign interests. The legislation was passed on March 15, 1951, and was verified by the Majlis on March 17, 1951. The legislation led to the nationalization of the [[Anglo-Persian Oil Company|Anglo-Iranian Oil Company]] (AIOC) and the formation of the [[National Iranian Oil Company]] (NIOC). The movement was led by [[Mohammad Mosaddegh]], a member of the Majlis for the [[National Front (Iran)|National Front]] and future prime minister of Iran. The movement to nationalize the oil industry was the reaction to the following concessions made by Iran to foreign powers: the [[Reuter concession]] of 1872, proceeding letter,<sup>[[D'Arcy Concession]]?]</sup> the 1933 agreement between the Iranian government and AIOC, and the Gas-golshaian<sup>[?]</sup> contract. According to the political scientist [[Mark J. Gasiorowski]], the oil nationalization movement had two major results: the establishment of a democratic government and the pursuit of Iranian national sovereignty.<ref name="Fadaee"/>
==Background==
From the time of the discovery of oil in Iran, foreign powers used force and exploited the weakness of the Iranian state to coerce it into concessions which allowed foreign companies to control oil extraction. The nationalization of the oil industry was the response to these foreign interventions. Particularly the following concessions:
# 1872 [[Reuter concession]]
# Proceeding letter{{which?|date=November 2021|reason=[[D'Arcy Concession]]?}}
# 1933 Agreement between Iran and AIOC<ref>{{Cite web|last=Foundation|first=Encyclopaedia Iranica|title=Oil Agreements in Iran|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/oil-agreements-in-iran|access-date=2021-12-23|website=iranicaonline.org|language=en-US|archive-date=July 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715075250/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/oil-agreements-in-iran|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kressin" />
# 1949 Gass-Gulshaiyan Supplemental Oil Agreement<ref name="Kressin" />
Relations between Iran and AIOC were never smooth. In 1932 Iran considered expropriation.  Tensions increased during the 1940s  as British  taxes increased while royalties to Iran declined.  By  1948,  Britain  received  substantially more revenue from AIOC than Iran. Negotiations to meet this and other Iranian concerns exacerbated  rather  than  eased tensions.<ref>{{cite Q|Q98960655}}<!-- The United States, Great Britain, and Mossadegh, Painter -->.</ref>
The competition to gain more control of the Iranian oil industry increased during [[World War II]] when the [[United Kingdom]], the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[United States]] all became involved in Iranian affairs. When faced with demands from the oil companies of these three countries, the Iranian government announced that the issue would be decided after the war.  After the war, no agreement was reached.<ref name="ijsr">{{cite web |last1=Golshani |first1=Alireza |last2=Jadidi |first2=Ali |title=Comparative Study of the Iran Oil Nationalization Movement and the Nuclear Energy within Rouzcronce and Kaplun's Theory |url=http://www.ijsr.in/upload/2107421897Microsoft%20Word%20-%20paper%2016.pdf |website=ijsr |access-date=March 14, 2016 |archive-date=April 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410223625/http://www.ijsr.in/upload/2107421897Microsoft%20Word%20-%20paper%2016.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
Gholamhosein Rahimiyan<sup>[Full Name?]</sup>, the member from [[Quchan County|Quchan]] in the 14th Majlis was the first who introduced a plan to nationalize the oil industry. However, this plan was never discussed.<ref name="ijsr"/> On October 23, 1949, at home of [[Mohammad Mosaddegh]] and in the presence of twelve experts{{who?|date=November 2021}} the [[National Front (Iran)|National Front]] (political party) was established. It consisted of various political efforts whose joint objective was the protection of the rights of Iranian oil industry.<ref name="ijsr"/>
==Movement==
{{Main|Mohammad Mosaddegh}}
[[File:Iranian Oil Nationalization Rally.jpg|thumb|Rally following nationalization]]
Mosaddegh (1882–1967) was an Iranian politician and the leader of the movement to nationalize Iran's oil industry.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hilsum|first1=Lindsey|title=Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Very British Coup by Christopher de Bellaigue – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/05/patriot-persia-bellaigue-mossadegh-review|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=February 5, 2012|access-date=March 14, 2019|archive-date=March 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317160339/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/05/patriot-persia-bellaigue-mossadegh-review|url-status=live}}</ref> He was educated in Europe, and joined politics after the [[Persian Constitutional Revolution|Iranian Constitutional Revolution]] of 1905–1907. He held multiple posts such as member of parliament, governor of the [[Fars Province]], finance minister, foreign minister, and prime minister.<ref>{{cite web|last1=ADST|title=The CIA's Coup Against Iran's Mohammad Mossadegh|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adst/the-cias-coup-against-ira_b_8001782.html|website=huffingtonpost|date=August 18, 2015|access-date=March 14, 2019|archive-date=September 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905215641/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adst/the-cias-coup-against-ira_b_8001782.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the election of the 14th Majlis in 1943, he was elected member for [[Tehran]]. Before gaining recognition as the leader of the national oil movement, he played a large role in the trans-Iranian railway project and the re-organization of the courts and the Justice Department.<ref name="Fadaee">{{cite book|last1=Fadaee|first1=Simin|title=Social Movements in Iran: Environmentalism and Civil Society|date=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415693578|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jwwHLeYoorQC&q=Oil+Nationalization+Movement&pg=PA51}}</ref>
==Event==
{{See also| Anglo-Iranian Oil Company }}
The 16th Majlis consisted of some members from National Front such as Mosaddegh. Mosaddegh had sought to audit the documents of AIOC, in order to verify that AIOC was paying the contracted royalties to Iran, and to limit the company's control over Iranian oil reserves. AIOC refused to co-operate with the Iranian government.{{When|date=December 2021}}<ref name="Kressin">{{cite web|last=Kressin|first=Wolfgang K.|date=May 1991|title=Prime Minister Mossaddegh and Ayatullah Kashani From Unity to Enmity: As Viewed from the American Embassy in Tehran, June 1950 – August 1953|url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a239339.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109224808/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a239339.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=November 9, 2013|publisher=University of Texas at Austin}}</ref> In November 1950, the rejection of the oil supplemental agreement was offered from oil committee of Majlis which was chaired by Mosaddegh. The prime minister at the time, [[Haj Ali Razmara]], opposed the measure. On March 7, 1951, Razmara was murdered by [[Khalil Tahmasebi]], a member of [[Fada'iyan-e Islam]].<ref name="Inc">{{cite book|last1=Inc|first1=Ibp|title=Iran Country Study Guide|date=2015|publisher=International Business Publications|isbn=978-1514513675|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1HORBQAAQBAJ&q=Nationalization+of+Iran%27s+oil+industry&pg=PA55}}</ref> After the death of Razmara, the Majlis began the process of nationalizing the Iranian oil industry.<ref name="Fadaee"/><ref name="Vassiliou">{{cite book|last1=Vassiliou|first1=M. S.|title=Historical Dictionary of the Petroleum Industry|date=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0810859937|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bBvz_YxlB-AC&q=Nationalization+of+Iran%27s+oil+industry&pg=PA51}}</ref>
On March 15, 1951, legislation to nationalize the oil industry was passed by the Majlis with a majority of votes. On March 17 the Majlis verified the nationalization of Iran oil industry and the AIOC was nationalized.<ref name="Fadaee"/><ref name="ijsr" />
==Aftermath==
{{see also|1953 Iranian coup d'état}}
In April, Mosaddegh was selected as prime minister by Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] under immense pressure from the Majlis.<ref name="Inc"/>
In the aftermath of March 1951, the economic crisis worsened and Iranian oil was not bought by other countries. The [[Abadan Refinery]], at the time one of the largest oil refineries in the world, was closed. The nationalization of the Iranian oil industry continued even through strong opposition from the [[United States]] and the [[United Kingdom]].
In the first year of the nationalization, the only foreign sale of Iranian oil were 300 barrels to an Italian merchant ship. Foreign oil companies prevented any impacts of the Iranian withdrawal from being felt by consumer countries by increasing output elsewhere. Oil production was expanded by [[BP]] and [[ARAMCO]] in [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Kuwait]] and [[Iraq]]. Oil production in the [[Middle East]] increased by around 10% annually in 1951, 1952 and 1953. With Iranian oil production decreasing from 242 million barrels in 1950 to 10.6&nbsp;million barrels in 1952, the loss of oil exports severely impacted the economy.<ref name="McKern">{{cite book|last1=McKern|first1=Bruce|title=Transnational Corporations and the Exploitation of Natural Resources, Volume 10|date=1993|publisher=Routledge; Set Only edition|isbn=978-0415085434|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ieO4zYcOkg8C&q=Nationalization+of+Iran%27s+oil+industry&pg=PA300}}</ref>
In August 1953, the government of Mosaddegh was overthrown by a military [[coup d'état]] orchestrated by the [[Central Intelligence Agency|United States Central Intelligence Agency]] and the [[Secret Intelligence Service|British Secret Intelligence Service]]. Mosaddegh was sentenced to three years in prison and then kept under house arrest until his death in 1967.<ref>The Modern Middle East:A Political History Since the First World War, University of California Press, January 3, 2011, by Mehran Kamrava, page 148</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica|title=Mohammad Mosaddeq|url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammad-Mosaddeq|website=Britannica|date=March 2024|access-date=March 14, 2016|archive-date=July 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708115243/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammad-Mosaddeq|url-status=live}}</ref>
After the coup, the Iranian oil crisis ended and the AIOC did not succeed to stop production. The National Iranian oil company as an international consortium was founded and the AIOC was made a member. With the nationalization of the oil industry, British and American political influence continued for years after coup.<ref name="Fadaee" />
==See also==
{{Portal|Iran|Energy}}
*[[Energy in Iran]]
*[[Mohammad Ali Keshavarz Sadr]]
*[[Ministry of Petroleum of Iran]]
*[[National Iranian Oil Company]]
*[[National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company]]
*[[National Iranian Petrochemical Company]]
*[[National Iranian Gas Company]]
*[[Suez Crisis]]
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==External links==
* {{cite encyclopedia | title=Oil Agreements in Iran (1901–1978): their history and evolution | encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] | access-date=December 26, 2017 | author=Mina, Parviz | date=July 20, 2004 | url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/oil-agreements-in-iran}}
{{authority control}}
{{Iran–United States relations}}
[[Category:Petroleum industry in Iran]]
[[Category:Pahlavi Iran]]
[[Category:Cold War history of Iran]]
[[Category:Iran–United Kingdom relations]]
[[Category:Mohammad Mosaddegh]]
[[Category:Nationalization]]
[[Category:Petroleum politics]]
[[Category:Iran–United States relations]]
[[Category:1951 in Iran]]