He would have done the same as the British when they simple seized the country. He would have imposed a puppet regime which handed over all natural resources to him.
As to hurting his standing, who are you kidding? The entire Middle East had been brutally conquered/puppeted by Britain (and France) with practically no independent countries left. What's one more colonial oppressor?
Sure, England would have screamed bloody murder, sensitive as they were about India, but who'd have cared? It's not as if the creation of the Eastern bloc inspired much actual opposition beyond alliances etc.
As to hurting his standing, who are you kidding? The entire Middle East had been brutally conquered/puppeted by Britain (and France) with practically no independent countries left. What's one more colonial oppressor?
Sure, England would have screamed bloody murder, sensitive as they were about India, but who'd have cared? It's not as if the creation of the Eastern bloc inspired much actual opposition beyond alliances etc.