TEHERAN: Martial Law was proclaimed in Teheran early this morning [July 16] following a Communist riot in which 15 persons were killed and more than 70 injured. A curfew was also imposed from midnight to 5 a.m. The riot touched off by the arrival of Averell Harriman, President Truman’s special envoy, was finally quelled when the police with light tanks charged the 10.000 Communist demonstrators.

The clash occurred in the Majlis Square when the Communists were blocked by the police. Groups of National Front supporters — backers of Premier Mohammad Mossadeq’s Government — attacked the Communists from side streets. Following the clash with the police small fights broke out in the crowd itself.

Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Fatemi said today that the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company was responsible for last night’s riots. He told a [news agency] correspondent that he had “evidence to prove this”. Soldiers with fixed bayonets patrolled in parties through the streets of Teheran today. Adding to the ... tense situation were reports of Soviet troops concentrating on the Iranian northeastern border approximately 100 miles from Teheran. — News agencies

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2026