Chapter 982: Borrowing Strength

It was not that de Gaulle or Georges Pidour were uncomfortable with the presence of American troops in France.

But there are criticisms from all strata in France from top to bottom. This is not just rhetoric, saying that the unity of the free world can suppress it.

Unless the US troops in France are driven away, their hands will be tied to deal with the Algerian issue. A group of independent Algerian leaders can enter the United States without restrictions. Not only does the UK know this, France also has its own intelligence department, which is fully aware of this.

France is much more aware of suspicious allies than the UK. From the moment de Gaulle came to power, it has regarded the expulsion of foreign troops from the country as something that must be done.

"Send a memorandum to London and Washington." De Gaulle said to his old friend Georges Pidour, "Let's just say that now NATO is no longer adapted to the basic security needs of the entire free world, and France's responsibilities have also expanded to all parts of the world, so It is proposed to establish a council in NATO composed of the United States, Britain and France to have decision-making power on world political and strategic issues."

This memorandum was immediately sent from Paris, but the British Foreign Secretary was in the Middle East at this time. Although it is judged that there is little hope of solving the Iranian problem, it is still necessary to talk after a long trip.

Because the Foreign Secretary was meeting with Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh, this memorandum conveyed from London was first seen by the Deputy Secretary Alan Wilson. As soon as he saw it, he understood what was going on, "Oh, we want to withdraw from NATO. ”

This has been a certainty since de Gaulle came to power. France at least considers itself no worse than the UK. The UK serves as deputy commander of NATO and is the secretary-general of NATO. Then France is treated the same as Belgium and the Netherlands? There are indeed some things that the French cannot accept.

"Secretary General, what's in this telegram?" Dixon didn't hear his immediate boss's muttering, his voice was too low.

"Oh, it's nothing serious. A memorandum. We will inform the minister of the memorandum after the minister has finished talking." Alan Wilson looked indifferent and described the matter as lightly as possible.

He is actually still calculating how much of the world's oil reserves the Persian Gulf countries that the UK can still control will occupy after losing Iran. Calculated in terms of area, the major powers in the Middle East are of course Saudi Arabia and Iran.

But now Saudi Arabia does not have the status of future generations, and the gold standard and stable petrodollar have not appeared. All countries are on the gold standard. To put it simply, Saudi Arabia is currently in a situation where it is unable to sell its country.

At present, the United States chooses support targets because of the factors of the gold standard, not only oil, but also its own strength is not too bad.

Saudi Arabia is a weakling in the eyes of the United States. On the contrary, Iran, as the successor of the ancient Persian state, has a population of more than 20 million, which is much more powerful than Saudi Arabia, which has less than 4 million people. Iran not only has a lot of oil, but also has the ability to be self-sufficient, so it is a good helper.

Saudi Arabia has such a small population, low military strength, and a large area of ​​desert, which greatly reduces its value in the eyes of the United States.

And because of the Israeli factor, important Arab countries, whether it is Syria, which is a republic that is pro-Soviet, or Egypt and Iraq, which are monarchies that lean toward the United Kingdom, all have in common that they are hostile to Israel.

Even if the United States supports Saudi Arabia, it still has no say in the Arab world. Instead of doing this, it would be better to support Iran, which has a large land area, good basic conditions, and a population of more than 20 million.

Compared with Iran, Saudi Arabia, which does not even have a high status in the Arab world, really has little value in the eyes of the United States.

But compared to Iran, Saudi Arabia is not important. This does not mean that Saudi Arabia can be manipulated by the UK. Saudi Arabia has already voted for the United States. If the United Kingdom wants to preserve its existing interests, the United States may not find an opportunity yet. If it wants to take any action against Saudi Arabia, the United States will definitely not do it.

If Iran cannot turn back this time, Britain, the two largest countries in the Middle East, will lose all influence.

But even so, Alan Wilson, who had a strong political reserve for later generations, almost immediately thought of the oil reserves and proportions of the countries in the Middle East.

In the Persian Gulf, the world's largest oil depot. Of course, Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly the number one, and Iran is the uneasy second.

Iran's oil reserves are actually not far behind those of other countries, and are not much larger than those of Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Why did Saddam want to annex Kuwait later? On the one hand, Iraq was indeed overwhelmed by foreign debt.

Another aspect is the bigger goal. Iraq and Kuwait have oil reserves that are comparable to Saudi Arabia. Iraq also occupies two river basins with much better natural conditions than Saudi Arabia. After annexing Kuwait, Iraq, which is already a powerful country in the Arab world, , wielding the oil stick is much more powerful than Saudi Arabia.

Plus the pocket emirates of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, which do not yet exist but are all under British protection.

Even if it loses control of Iran, the remaining Persian Gulf oil controlled by Britain can still satisfy its imperial strategy.

Alan Wilson is even calculating the cost of mining. It is well known that Saudi Arabia’s mining costs are extremely low. If you want to compete, ordinary countries are not Saudi Arabia’s opponents. Considering the distance issue, Libya can actually compete with Saudi Arabia. The direct mining costs are not rivals of Saudi Arabia, but Libya is close to Europe and does not have to pay tolls on the Suez Canal.

Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates can compete with Saudi Arabia, but Iraq's costs cannot compete with Saudi Arabia. As for Iran's mining costs, they are still higher than those of these countries.

After all, the legacy of the British Empire was rich, and Alan Wilson supported his wife and discovered oil reserves in Libya. After calculating the cards in his hand, as long as he could keep the remaining existing results, even if he lost Iran, he could still implement the strategy in his mind.

"If this is used as an excuse to kidnap the European market and establish links with Iraq, Kuwait, and the emirates as markets and energy production sites? This is not a bad thing."

In the eyes of other diplomats, the boss' mouth twitched, he paced back and forth with a murmur, and his face was solemn. It seemed that he was thinking about the future of the British Empire. In fact, he was extremely happy. What a good excuse.

He used the Iranian oil crisis as an excuse to push for the creation of mini-OPEC, and he already had a plausible reason and would offer advice whenever the Foreign Secretary asked.

Time passed little by little, and Harold Wilson finally ended the meeting and walked out of the conference room. Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh followed closely behind, with the same solemn expression on his face. It was obvious that the talks were not going well.

"We lost Iran." Harold Wilson said in a low voice, "This is contempt for Britain."

Alan Wilson looked at Mossadegh. The Iranian Prime Minister did not refute, apparently acquiescing that Harold Wilson's words were true, and said, "Prime Minister Mossadegh, maybe you think this is a good thing for Iran. . But it’s not that easy. This time it’s a humiliation for Britain, and you will know the consequences in the future.”

"Sir, is it a mistake for Iran to take back its own interests?" Mossadegh asked after hearing this.

"We already know who is backing Iran. Needless to say, it is too clear." Alan Wilson was not trying to trick Mossadegh. MI6 has already made a judgment that there is a grown-up white-eyed wolf behind Iran. .

At this point, no matter what Pahlavi or Mossadegh thought, now that Iran has made up its mind, Alan Wilson has become less polite in his words.

Although the loss was caused by the British Petroleum Company, a competitor of his wife's industry, it was also the property of the British Empire. From the perspective of safeguarding British interests, he always had to say a few words.

“Do the British still think this is the era of imperialism?”

"Now it seems that King Pahlavi presided over the prime minister's decision to re-finalize the oil allocation, which was a wise move."

"If you insist on thinking so, I won't deny it." Alan Wilson looked at the Iranian diplomat who showed his patriotism and said condescendingly, "The matter will never be settled like this, and Iran should not think that it will get anything. Britain After all, there are only 50 million people, and the United States and the Soviet Union both have three times the population of the United Kingdom. The Iranians feel that they have suffered a huge loss in supporting the United Kingdom, and their lives will be better if they change their guardian?"

"If you give less, countries with larger populations will not feel the benefits. If you give more, can Iran afford it? The population is growing, and a country with a population of several million can live well by selling resources, but absolutely Excluding Iran."

"When you go back, think about it carefully. Is this true? Can a country with a population of tens of millions leave everything to oil? How much benefit are you prepared to give to your so-called allies?"

Alan Wilson always spoke with data. For a moment, it was impossible to refute. Mossadegh stopped him and continued to argue, "I have already explained Iran's attitude. Of course we are not willing to be hostile to the United Kingdom, but when it comes to Iran For our national interests, there should be more competitors instead of allowing one country to have a monopoly. Iran will publicly call for cooperation when it takes back its oil, and any country can sign a contract with Iran."

"Britain has made clear its attitude towards Iran." Harold Wilson nodded deeply and stopped talking.

The talks between Britain and Iran broke up unhappily. After the Iranians left, Harold Wilson sat down and said that tough measures would be taken to safeguard the interests of the British Empire. An election was coming soon and the Labor Party could not give in.

Alan Wilson, who had been counting the cards in his hand these past few days, said at the right time, "Dear Minister, a telegram has just been forwarded from London, which may be able to help us. There are changes in France. "

"Oh?" Harold Wilson frowned, read the memorandum about France's sharing of NATO leadership, and finally shook his head, "How is this possible?"

"How is it impossible? Even if we don't stop it, Washington is not willing. Why should Britain be such a villain? MI6 has determined that the person causing trouble this time is our suspicious ally."

Alan Wilson spread his hands and whispered in an indifferent manner, "Wouldn't it be better to let the United States say no?"