TEHERAN: The Iranian Parliament on Thursday [March 15] voted unanimously to nationalize its oil industry — one of the richest sources of fuel in the world. A crowd of 2,000 outside … cheered … wildly … although … police … had banned demonstrations following reports that a Communist Party off-shoot had planned to march on the capital… . … People ran through the streets … shouting: “Our oil is nationalized.”

Most of the Deputies … voted for the [bill] which has … drawn stern warnings from the British that the 58 million dollars Anglo-Iranian concern cannot be nationalized by … Iran alone. Despite the … note … the Majlis was in no mood to temporize. The Deputies of the powerful Government Opposition National Front have been increasingly militant on the subject since the assassination … of Premier Ali Razmara who opposed nationalization.

After the vote Hossein Amkki, National Front Deputy-member of the Oil Commission … exulted: “… There has been no more a glorious day in Iran’s constitutional history … today the Majlis backed by the [nation] … has torn the economic chains imposed by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company over the last half century.” — News agencies

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2026