After World War II, Iran was occupied by Soviet and British forces due to its strategic importance and oil resources.
The Allies forced Reza Shah Pahlavi to abdicate/leave power in 1941. His son, Mohammad Reza Shah, took the throne. It's safe to say that Pahlavi was 'friendly' to the Germans in this 1941 period.....so the Brits and Soviets pushed the 'dad' out.
After WW II? Cold War dynamics fall into play. Iran became a geopolitical battleground between the US, U.K., and USSR.
The Soviets for a couple of years....support separatist movements in Azerbaijan, Iran and Kurdistan, but withdrew in 1946 under international pressure (at least they say this story).
Around 1951...Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh comes along. He's mostly a Iran nationalist. Mossadegh's agenda? Basically starts a movement to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC).
This starts a British-led boycott of Iranian oil and economic woes. In 1953, the US and U.K. design a coup (Operation Ajax) to oust Mossadegh. This solidifies the Shah’s power and securing Western oil interests.
This starts a 25-year period with the Shah. Iran...in several odd ways...gets westernized. There's all these reforms (women's rights) from 1963 on. From 1967....Iran Air expands routes, and Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport becomes a regional hub.
By the early 1970s, Iran is in the middle of tourism 'boom'...with 100k to 200k western visitors per year. Everything you see in Dubai today? That was the growing potential of Iran in the 1970s.
Luxury tourism factor? That's another odd story....Five-star hotels like the Tehran Hilton and the Shah’s promotion of Iran as a “gateway to the East” caters to affluent travelers. You even start seeing package tours by Western agencies included Iran alongside Egypt or Turkey.
Starting around the early 1970s....discontent starts to become evident. The groups? Oddball form....secular intellectuals, students, bazaar merchants, and the Shia clergy, led by figures like Ayatollah Khomeini. Oddly....the Shah’s secularism and authoritarianism are a problem.
Beginning of the end? Well...economic woes increase. No one can say the exact turn or path of problems....but they connect up to political repression, protests in 1978, the death of Khomeini’s son (blamed on the secret police), and widespread demonstrations. Russians involved? You can probably lay that out there but there's limited facts to talk about.
From early 1979 on? It's a gov't led by Kohmeini's crew....with limited economic recovery, and
How many Iranians support dumping the Kohmeini-thugs? Well....a Dutch group tried to do a independent statistical collection in 2022. What they suggest is that around 81-percent of adults want a complete change in gov't.
As bad as the Shah's path fell apart....Kohmeini's crew has arrived at the same location. A lot of this disgruntlement due to economics and cost of living? I think the bulk want a change, period....thinking anybody would be better than the current group running the program.
Finally....if the US and UK had never bothered to throw out the PM in 1953? Some folks wonder about that.....what Iran would be like today...without all the religious turmoil.
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