In the final years of the frail Qajar reign, the British wanted someone to eliminate those who rebelled in different corners of Iran. In order to prevent the threatening of their interests, they needed a thug, a bully who would at the same time comply with them. They came up with Reza Khan; they trained him and prepared him for what they wanted. First, he was a commander of the army and the prime minister, and then he was appointed as the king and the head of Iran! Only a few years after Reza Khan had come to power by the British, he started thinking he could ask them for more money in return for oil.
Of course, his submission to the British did not cease; however, every servant might, at times, consider asking his master for more money! His hounding temperament incited him to adopt a bullying manner towards the D'Arcy Concession, which still had thirty years to end. He entered a meeting of regime officials and put the D'Arcy Concession in the fireplace and burned it! When he was told that "thirty years remained of the validity of the contract”, he said: "What sort of a contract is this? They must give us more money for oil." And, who was the other party of the contract? A British company! Once Reza Khan did this to the D'Arcy Concession, the British government reacted and made a lot of fuss. Eventually, the British defeated Reza Khan and made the contract last for another sixty years, which originally had only thirty years left of its validity. That is, he signed another agreement with the British. This was what the British did with respect to Iran's oil, from Qajar to the end of Reza Khan's rule.
Imam Khamenei, Feb 3, 1995
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