Iran sanctions: Tehran is no stranger to oil's upheavals

US sanctions will target Iran’s energy industry from November. But the country where the first Middle Eastern oil discovery was made has faced many past vagaries in oil fortunes

It all began in London in 1900. An emissary of the government of Persia (as Iran was generally called up to the 1930s) was on the lookout for someone who might be interested in buying a concession to search for oil. A retired British diplomat recommended "a capitalist of the highest order", William Knox D'Arcy. He was an Englishman who had spent time in Australia and had made money in a gold-mining venture there. He was up for taking a punt in Persia. In 1901, he sent a representative to Tehran, and negotiations with Shah Muzaffar al-Din began. The Persian government was keen for a Briton to win the concession to balance Russian influence in the country. This factor helped smooth the discuss