Did they read every word of the deal?

HARK back to the halcyon days when the Shah ruled Iran, and every Western government thought he was a “good egg”, he had vast quantities of oil and was spending the cash raised buying the very best and latest weapon systems for his forces.

He paid for the development of the Vickers Challenger main battle tank which meant we could afford them, and also a tracked vehicle for the Rapier anti-aircraft missile. The latter were never delivered so were handed over to the Army with all the instruction labels in Farsi! How do I know? I sat in one and spoke to the bemused crew.

At the same time he raised the Imperian Iranian Marine Corps to police the Gulf area, calling for assistance from both the Royal Marines and US Marines for training facilities and instructors in the UK and US.

Some of his men were sent for Commando training in Devon where I met them. Being extremely well-paid they proved very popular with the local ladies. Some British instructors were sent to Iran to set up out there, one was a good friend of mine.

Just before the Shah fell, an Iranian my friend knew took him aside, told him to load his family into his car and scarper forthwith. No questions asked.

Trouble was already in the wind so he loaded up, leaving most of his possessions and headed for the Pakistan border. What happened next is history.

One tale he told was regarding the purchase of that car. When he went to collect it he found it on blocks. The Iranian seller told him that he had not bought the wheels! Extra cash had to be doled out before these were fitted. Stupid Westerner!

Watching the signing of that nuclear agreement I did wonder, at the time, if the western parties had read every word of every document or had they been conned? We are now finding out.

David Prichard Rumney, Cardiff