End of Empire (1985), chapter 7: Iran

End of Empire chronicled the last days of British rule around the globe, through the remarkably candid reminiscences of both colonizers and the colonized.
The series, a Granada Television production, uses old newsreel film and interviews with former British and Iran officials.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

00:30 - “We didn’t think he’d do any good for Iran...” Mmmhhhmmm...and said with a smug candour that beckons for a proper slap to the face. In short, “There is no greater sincerity than that of an upper class Englishman telling a lie.” - Greek proverb

[@mercomania]

The arrogance of the British Civil Servants and employees of the company is astounding.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Merry Frog - ...but entirely expected if anyone knows anything about their sort; even more astounding would be the lack of it.

[@coimbralaw]

Or you’re envious of a once-mighty Empire.

[@user-ls8ks7kv8c]

Those guys then weren't mighty at all. A number of them in these interviews come off as betamale clingly ex-boyfriends. There's a reason why the Empire fell. Good times lead to weak men and weak men lead to bad times.@alaw

[@HandleGF]

"When the British Empire sinks beneath the waves of history only two monuments will be left standing - the game of association football and the expression f*ck off." - Richard Turnbull (in Aden) in 1967

[@niloopiloo]

As an Iranian I am even more disgusted with politicians and the colonialist approaches of the west in this region .Nothing matters to them only money power and oil shame on all of us for having such a dark history that continues to this day .

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

“Money, Power, and Oil” - What else is there? And please don’t talk about such ridiculous notions as justice, democracy, fairness, respect of sovereignty, and so on...no imperialist power ever took such nonsense seriously: that’s why they became Imperialist Powers. These have only one Creed and only one Rule. The Creed: “ALL for US - NOTHING for anyone else”. The Rule: “Might is Right”. Full stop. - Hey, I think I wrote a book on global affairs theory in 45 seconds! Any publishers interested?

[@KeithWilliamMacHendry]

How did the Persians behave during their days of empire?

[@wor53lg50]

@@KeithWilliamMacHendry they colonised the north of africa to constantinople, and took slaves white and black...in fact it gets darker than that Arabs not proper islamic muslims, turks,moors, ottomans as in light skinned arabs think christian Lebanon(before wiped out) , kurds, Armenians(being wiped) are the results of white and dark skinned slaves from times of old..

[@giverdend1416]

@@KeithWilliamMacHendry All historical evidence point out that the "Persians" allowed the people in the regions they conquered to govern themselves, keep their own languages and practice their own religions. But if your only defense is "what about this other empire that existed 1500 years ago (which by all accounts was less brutal, less oriented toward extracting resources, treated its vassals as equals rather than non-citizens, and more democratic than the Brits)", you don't really have a defense.

[@MarriageArezou1]

American made a fair deal with Saudi in Aramco and till today the two countries happily are allies. British were greedy and didn't want to give a fair share to Iranian for their oil, and got nothing in long turn. Lesson for all: be fair and respectful to last long..

[@user-ls8ks7kv8c]

And one of the reasons the Saudis specifically made a deal with the Americans and not the British was because the Americans (at that time anyways) just simply wanted to make a business deal ($$$), which benefits both sides, whereas the British wanted to conquer and control.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

“Rent-A-Crowd” - catchy name for an event planning entrepreneurship.

[@farric1]

The sense of entitlement expressed by the british politicians with regard to Iran and its' resources comes across quite sharply in 2021.The empire was certainly arrogant, if nothing else. Never to be repeated thankfully.

[@coimbralaw]

Envy animates your comment

[@farric1]

@@coimbralaw how can that be when I'm British myself? It's self awareness, rather than envy that animates my comment, as you put it.

[@wor53lg50]

​@@farric1British?? Lol,.. Forouk!!, brown and black will never be british.. Or english or any other part...

[@MBBurchette]

Who discovered the oil? Who built the wells and pumps and derricks and pipelines and refineries? Oil has retarded the societies of the Middle East. They earn 100’s of billions $’s per year by a selling it, despite never developing a culture to educate the geologists to discover it, the engineers to recover it, or the chemists to refine it. The elites spend most of the money on vanity projects, super yachts, professional sports teams, and jihadist paramilitaries. Sad to say but the Brits did more to create the Anglo-Persian Oil than any Iranian.

[@audreyenayat2998]

​@MBBurchette you might be right, but one thing is for sure Britz didn't do it out of the goodness of their hearts! Greed! All they had to do is to train local workers, make life a bit easier for the locals and they would probably still be there! It would have been win-win! Britain still not leaving Iran alone!!!!

[@chadmunsey]

Thank you for posting this. Incredibly informative.

[@FRANKTHRING1]

Sir Donald Logan, the British Foreign Office mandarin shown in this programme is a marvellous stereotypical example of why these men get awarded the K.C.M.G. It used to be said this stood for "Kindly Call Me God".

[@LawrenceTung]

He reminded me of Sir Humphrey Appleby (or, more precisely, Sir Frank) in Yes Minister series. I think, on the contrary, he should be awarded GCMG (or "God Call Me God").

[@Orf]

16:00 Mosaddegh thought U.S. would help him since they were sympathetic to nationalist movements. Since America itself had a nationalist movement separating from the British.

[@mayena]

This series was originally broadcast and produced in 1985, roughly 6 years after the Iranian Revolution (1979). In hindsight maybe a commentator from the production company should asked 'Is the legacy of the current situation from the 1953 Iranian coup d'etat/Operation Ajax (15-19/8/1953)?.

[@invisibleray6987]

I remember this series when it got shown, thanks, it makes you realise how much we lost since the war

[@davidchunkyonion]

The UK "lost" things they stole. So sad 😢

[@32052]

The British were so arrogant, that rather than make agreements with the Iranian government, for oil; they would make deals with local khans, where only 15% of oil revenues, came back to Iran, so spare your British pseudo righteous gibberish

[@HistoryonYouTube]

And what happened afterwards, the revolution of 1979, indeed the regime of today, could have been avoided simply by treating the workers better and everyone else as equals. That makes more sense that this British exceptionalism which regretably 70 years later is alive and very well.

[@audreyenayat2998]

Now West is getting oil extremely cheap from Islamic Republic! That's why they are helping them staying in power! Pathetic mullahs are better for the West than a democratic government! Hopefully this ends well supporting a terrorist regime in Iran!

[@peterbradshaw8018]

What a squalid affair.

[@gholimoli7072]

If this movie can tell a part of history, then i hate to be called as sir ever in my life, since it at least shows many who called sir were someday in the past involved in human crimes in developing countries. What a pity that we live among those british or americans then.

[@Orf]

8:15 British took 9 x more oil revenue than iranians

[@gregorystarks2514]

They are crooks , and exert their parasitism on all they find !

[@Eric-ye5yz]

Sounds strange, 2 countries (USA UK) will not let another country (Iran) do what it wants in its own country. Is that how it will be (or is) in Australia ?? Are we surprised at the constant warring in the world.

[@johnpatterson6448]

Anybody else notice that Mr Drake sounded like Tim, Tim Nice but Dim. By Harry Enfield?

[@user-ls8ks7kv8c]

One of the fascinating things about these documentaries is you can really see what Margaret Thatcher was talking about when she was complaining about the absolutely weak "men" at that time that she had to deal with in government. As a Muslim, I say thank God because that allowed us to get rid of them but as a man I'm just astonished how true it is that good times lead to weak men and weak men lead to bad times.

[@asimnawaz9256]

Iranians had a right to demand royalty and share in employment but people who set up that industry should not have been expelled as foreigners. International community needs to formulate rules that could protect intellectual property rights of innovators and pioneers.

[@chrisbacos]

It was a travesty what happened to this good, peace loving man Mossadegh. This also led to the current Islamic regime in Iran.

[@Exposing_Mark_Niemczyk]

Seems to me that he was a obstinate old bugger who preferred to listen to nationalist slogans instead of reason. The British built and ran the Anglo-Iranian Oil company. They provided the capital, the expertise, and the logistics to get the stuff out of the ground, refined, and shipped to market. The Iranians should have been happy to get a percentage of the profits but no, they wanted it all.

[@Lazylinepainter.]

jvaa cvaa Should have been happy with 10%? Maybe if they hadn't been strongarmed by the British they could have put it out to tender and got a higher percentage for Iran from someone else so I don't see why they should have been happy at all.Also obstinate old bugger or not he was an elected representative of the people of Iran and the U.S an U.K had no business in overthrowing him.It also exposes their apparent love of democracy as a sham.

[@Exposing_Mark_Niemczyk]

10% isn't bad considering that, if not for the British, the oil would stay in the ground and that would mean ZERO%.

[@Lazylinepainter.]

jvaa cvaa Oil is a finite resource and industry has an insatiable apatite for the stuff someone was going to get that oil out of the ground and The British wern't the only people capabile of doing it.Should the Iranians not have had the freedom to accept other(fairer) offers on the free market?

[@chrisbacos]

jvaa cvaa Wrong!!!!!

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Ah, yes...The United States and Britain making the world safe from democracy...

[@virtuafighter3]

At 33 mins in 'He was a highly civilized person'. That could be seen as being very patronising.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

virtualfighter3 - Would you rather he called Dr. Mosaddegh “a savage”? - Just joking...you’re quite right, of course: even when expressed in the most innocuous terms, such statements come across as insufferably smug and patronizing (particularly when uttered by Western imperialist elites, and especially by those of the British Establishment). But this lot really can’t help it - they simply don’t know any other way: it’s been bred and ‘public’ schooled into them...When a non-Westerner says something of the sort it is nearly always genuinely intended as a compliment; on the other hand, if a colonialist functionary makes any such statement it often translates as astonished delight in witnessing an aberration from the expected norm: “Look, Mum! - the cute little monkey is using a knife and fork to eat his banana!”. 🍌🐒

[@TheLoyalOfficer]

Fascinating question: how long would Mossadeq have lasted against the Ayatollahs?

[@marks_sparks1]

Rouzbeh Modarresi the 1953 CIA coup had the backing of the Grand Ayatollah Kashlani, despite denials by today's theocratic regime to this day, who accordingly libel Mossadegh in their revision of Persian history

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

You never tell the imperialists what you’re going to do: FIRST you do it; THEN you tell them. Mosaddegh and the Shah both made this fatal mistake. Ayatollah Khomeini, on the other hand...if you ever want to dupe politicians at their own game, call in a priest. Done!

[@Exposing_Mark_Niemczyk]

30:11 Wrong picture...That's the mummy of King Tut!

[@Orf]

4:20 oil color broll

[@Orf]

24:15 Mosaddegh in America. Shaking hands w Truman

[@persiancat1116]

This is why Iran is like this now

[@chrisbacos]

It also would have been better if the Iranians in this documentary who didn't speak English would have spoken Farsi rather than French or German.

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

chrisbacos TBH the fact they spoke French or German meant I could still understand them even when I wasn't watching the subtitles. :) But I did find it a bit strange.

[@alexcarter8807]

My father was over there and had to leave, post haste, when the Shah was deposed. We kids were taught that the Shah was a wonderful person but it turns out he was a right bastard. However, at least I learned that Iranis are really nice people as a general rule.

[@kaveman1021]

The Shah was an Iranian patriot. without him we would be in ruins.

[@matthewgabbard6415]

@@kaveman1021 You are in ruins, and he was a big part of it. Of course the religious theocracy has crippled the country since then, and is the current reason for Iran's failure to thrive. Iran was never a British colony and yet she acted like a moody teenager acting out against everyone but herself. Iran wanted their oil nationalized right now, but when it was she didn't know what to do with it. Iran has always sought easy answers to complex problems, and that is why it is in the position it is in. The revolution should have been a turning point, but instead Iran let the religious fanatics take control. Iran had a very modern, infrastructure and abundant petroleum resources just waiting to be ran by a proper democracy, but they messed it up. Instead of moving on and thriving they focused on petty hatreds against the west. The west never ruled Iran

[@kaveman1021]

@@matthewgabbard6415 you should learn your history from sources other than the American news media.

[@MotivatoryFinance]

Shut up. The Shah was a glorious patriot who cared more about his people than any other leader has.

[@audreyenayat2998]

You are clueless!!!

[@mikebellis5713]

Were the Persian workers forced to work for the British oil companies? Or did they work there by choice?

[@hypothebai4634]

Watching this reminds me that I always want to throw up when I listen to Brits speak.

[@zingingcutie8421]

Who came here after coup 53.

[@Orf]

40:10 ***In March '53, a ***hired mob called for Mosaddegh's blood

[@tr_2sc1970]

Someone's policy is now to get out of Everlasting Hell!

[@Jasonbeck2753]

2:27 I've always been told that Farsi is the French of the East but I never thought it'd be that similar lol

[@MotivatoryFinance]

He was speaking French

[@cavaliermama56]

Terribly shameful for US and UK.

[@Orf]

3:45 Mosaddegh not corruptible, always stood up against power

[@harichalla90]

dis doc iz bs craaappp

[@ChrisSmith-lo2kp]

funny that no one ever seems to mention the 48 pipeline from Kirkuk Iraq to Haifa Palestine

[@Gev90]

✔

[@TheTomnom]

'The illegal Communist Party' ........by who and what legality???

[@MotivatoryFinance]

By the decree of the Shah

[@nikd545]

0:33 Arrogant pig ! he feels so good overthrowing and killing an innocent man.

[@MotivatoryFinance]

Mosadegh was a communist traitor

[@chrismarshva]

ah the first time the Shah fled the country

[@MattBiden]

Like a bitch

[@themise1416]

Sad

[@globalinvestor7481]

What a mess Iran is today

[@kreativekut666]

Bloody oil

[@kilpatrickkirksimmons5016]

I love Britain, but we should've done to them in Iran what we did to them during the Suez Crisis. It would've saved us, the British, the Iranians, and indeed the world incalculable trouble. Hindsight is 20/20, of course. But of all our Cold War missteps this was easily our biggest blunder, egged on by a rare lack of lucidity from London. Even Vietnam, painful as that was, has been more or less resolved with friendly relations restored while Iran remains a pain in the ass, even though we haven't actually fought.

[@paddy864]

@@keithwatson1384 There's a lot of truth in that, and apparently Eisenhower later regreted his behaviour over Suez after he saw what became of the Middle East.

[@MGentsch]

@msvetov Shame on you. People this video is full of fake infos.

[@romstermonstermotorsport5206]

Wasn’t the Shah Fascist and then became a dictator

[@MotivatoryFinance]

No… Are you being serious you idiot?

[@audreyenayat2998]

🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱

[@14warriorOfZion88]

Люстраци

[@barnabybones2393]

Britain built the massive infrastructure that brought the world from the horse and cart into the jet age then is shocked that they were ruthless in protecting their economic interests. Brits should have disassembled everything and shipped it home down to the last railroad spike just to prove a point. We wouldn't be worried about a Persian bomb, we'd be wondering if Iran could figure out how to hitch a team of horses to a poorly crafted wagon.

[@audreyenayat2998]

Disassemble infrastructure guaranteeing to cut themselves out of stealing oil from Iran for good? They still had hope at that point that they would be able to sneak back in! Never-ending greed!

[@pradipghose2125]

This was the worst period of Anglo American duplicity.

[@temitoluwani5000]

Lies,,,, all lies.

[@virtuafighter3]

41 mins in - fake news ...

[@Exposing_Mark_Niemczyk]

25:00 If Mossadegh wanted oil so badly, why didn't he just get all we wanted off the surface of his massive nose? That thing was larger than most British colonies.

[@CaptainHarlock-kv4zt]

What an evil ,evil empire !

[@stevecochrane3491]

Iran would have been worse if it hadn't been for the UK's extraction.

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

Steve Cochrane But it would have been better if Iranians had taken over the extraction and marketing process.

[@Dreaded88]

But they do!

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

Dreaded88 Frogs sing with top hats at the Hippodrome?