312 DESTINY DISRUPTED
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''I..,IRANDivision of the Arab World: The Mandates Plan
Hashemite patriarch. Ibn Saud went on to conquer 80 percent of the Ara-
bian Peninsula. Only Yemen, Oman, and a few sliver-sized coastal emirates
remained outside his grasp. The European powers did nothing to stop him
because he too held some IOUs. In 1932, Ibn Saud declared his holdings
a sovereign new country called Saudi Arabia.
In Egypt, meanwhile, Great Britain succumbed to its own pieties and
declared the country independent, sovereign, and free-with a few caveats.
First, Egyptians could not change their form of government; they must re-
main a monarchy. Second, Egyptians could not replace their actual rulers;
they must retain their existing royal family. Third, the Egyptians must ac-
cept the continued presence of British military forces and bases on their
soil. Fourth, the Egyptians must leave the Suez Canal in British hands
without protest. Fifth, the private company controlled by Britain and
France must continue to collect all fees from that busiest of sea channels
and send the bulk of it back to Europe.
Egypt would get an elected parliament, but this parliament's decisions
must be approved by British authorities in Cairo. Beyond these few points,
Egypt was to consider itself sovereign, independent, and free. Egypt