... and he had to withhold his countenance, ...

[pars]

Dear all:

What is the meaning of the words in bold in the following passage? It is from the book Anglo-Iranian relations since 1800, edited by Vanessa Martin, p. 92:

As the representative of the government Farman_farma had to safeguard Iran's interests, and if they ran counter to those of the British and he had to withhold his countenance, they retaliated by accusing him of malpractice, a well-known method of defamation policy used by the British authorities as a means of justifying g their acts.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[SoothingDave]

Approval, support, etc.

 

[pars]

Approval, support, etc.

Thanks very much dear SoothingDave, but support what? Iran's interests?

 

[teechar]

I wonder if it means:

and he had to withhold his countenance,

.. and he had to save face (presumably by objecting to, or even rejecting the interests of the British ..)

 

[SoothingDave]

Thanks very much dear SoothingDave, but support what? Iran's interests?

Support for whatever British ideas that he thought were against Iran's interests.