The British were the first to learn not to underestimate the power of frail-looking, 72-year-old Mohammed Mossadegh. Last week, his Iranian opposition learned the lesson.
One morning, 5,000 students and unemployed, led by the outlawed Communist Tudeh Party, invaded Majlis Square, shouting "Death to Mossadegh!" They were confronted by 5,000 police and soldiers, reinforced by 5,000 nationalist hoodlums. Stones flew, bayonets flashed and tear-gas shells popped for five hours; when the Tudeh mob finally broke, a police colonel had been killed, eight of the rioters lay dead, and hundreds more were under arrest. While the police looked the other way,...
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