Ontological Security and the Nationalization of Oil Industry in Iran

Nationalization of oil industry in Iran is one of the most important events in the contemporary history of Iran and can somehow be regarded as the first significant engagement of Iran in international politics. In the course of the events leading to and resulting from it, there were long serious discussions between Iran and Western partners, i.e. Britain and the US. While the former sought to change Iran’s policies through threats and rewards, the latter looked for compromise between the two parties. Despite threats, however, Iran did not change its behavior in a drastic way. The sole major objective of the Mosaddegh administration was to implement the law called Dispossession (of AIOC) when he could reach an agreement with the AIOC to increase state revenues, nullify the threats, and save the government. Although this has been emphasized in most analyses, it has not been addressed systematically. On the basis of the theory of ontological security and through discourse analysis, this article seeks to demonstrate how, despite the seriousness of material threats, the nationalization of oil became possible and all other options were ignored.