A profile in courage

"Hassan Sadr, the author of previously unpublished notes on Dr. Mossadegh, is historically important for a number of reasons. He was Dr. Mossadegh's personal lawyer at various times; represented the country at the International Court of the Hague during the height of the oil nationalization crisis; and he counseled Dr. Mossadegh at the High Appeals Court immediately after the 1953 coup and the infamous "trial" in the rigged military tribunal. Sadr's notes are important primary sources for understanding of Dr. Mossadegh's thinking-especially about Iranian history, the origins of the oil nationalization campaign, his rejections of the various so-called "compromises" offered made by the West, particularly the World Bank, and finally his detailed criticism of the 1954 Oil Consortium Agreement which he dismissed as "negating" the oil nationalization law. These notes not only reflect Mossadegh's thinking but also reveal much on the behind-the-scenes goings on during the court trials-the stringent restrictions put on defense lawyers as well as the prosecutors failed attempts to sow dissension between Mossadegh and his former ministers. Some of this information has not been revealed before"--