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5/15/54: Reel 4, Track 1, Pa 1 MR. ACHESON: Let's try to get the main outlines of the plan and then talk about the incredible difficulties in getting this thing so that the United States government could make a proposal and then get others to go along with it. This first part, you can see, was very difficult. The second part of it had to do with the position of the Anglo-Tranian Oil Company; and that, as I recall it, was the former purchasing subsidiary which would buy, or contract to buy, a number of tons of oil which were estimated at about what Iran could produce when it got going. Thise would be crude end- TRUMAN products, per M (?), at a discount off ** United States Atlantic Coast -NATIONAL ADMIN- price, with some adjustments, which I don't remember. So Anglo-Iranian the CONTINUED was to say, "We will take practically all the oil we think you fellows can xx produce, and products." And the prices were prices which heretofore had not been involved in controversy but were some published United States coast prices, which had adjustments for transportation and one thing or another. Out of the price, which was collected by the seller, the Anglo- Iranian Company, an amount which was either twenty or twenty-five percent, was to be retained by the company as compensation for its property. The total amount which was to be retained would be determined by somebody later on at a later proceeding. In the meantime you sold the oil; you took twentty- five percent of what you got; you put it into a bank account for yourself against an amount to be worked out later. the provision in Mossadegh's MR. NITZE (?) : May I make this comment that that original nationalization law? MR. ACHESON: That's where we got it; I think we had a different percentage. I think we raised him five. MR. Nitze (?) It was twenty-five, but it was confused as to whether this was net or gross. MR. McGHEE: In our discussions with him, he indicated gross. MR. NITZE: Well, we made it twenty percent of gross in the final deal. MR. ACHESON: The tagio National Iranian Oil Co. was to make any contract it chose with 0001657