Failure of a Mission

In two years as Britain's ambassador, Sir Francis Shepherd, 59, a professional diplomat, saw his nation's power and influence in Iran fall to the lowest point in half a century, and bore some share of the responsibility. Disliking and underrating Premier Mossadegh, he argued long and often with him, considered Harriman's mission to try to patch things up an unwarranted intrusion by the U.S., and made it plain that he thought Mossadegh could be starved into submission.

Last week the British Foreign Office announced that it was replacing Sir Francis in Iran. His successor: Iranian-speaking

Robert Hankey, 46, now Minister in Budapest and once Anthony Eden's assistant private secretary. This week, Iran refused to accept him.

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