4.2.1

Relations & Business with Iran after WW2

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Iran After World War Two

British and Soviet troops invaded Iran in 1941 after the Iranian leader showed sympathies with the Nazi Party.

Illustrative background for Did Britain own Iran's oil?Illustrative background for Did Britain own Iran's oil? ?? "content

Did Britain own Iran's oil?

  • A businessman, named George Reynolds, had purchased the rights to all of Iran's oil for £20,000 in 1901.
  • The government had then bought 51% of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1908 for £2 million. Iranian oil was then used by the British Navy.
  • Iran did not contain any Iranian workers with the expertise to exploit their oil fields.
Illustrative background for Who was Mohammad Mossadegh?Illustrative background for Who was Mohammad Mossadegh? ?? "content

Who was Mohammad Mossadegh?

  • Mossadegh became the Iranian Prime Minister in 1952. One of his main policies was the nationalisation of the Iranian oil industry.
  • At the time, a Soviet-supported political party named the Tudeh was gaining influence.
Illustrative background for What sparked the oil dispute in Iran in the 1950s?Illustrative background for What sparked the oil dispute in Iran in the 1950s? ?? "content

What sparked the oil dispute in Iran in the 1950s?

  • Iran thought that Britain exploited its natural resources. Britain thought they had created an oil industry in Iran where otherwise there would be none.
  • In December 1950, the United States of America agreed a deal with Saudi Arabia to develop the Saudi oil industry in exchange for 50% of the profits. This company was called the Arabian-American Oil Company.
  • In Iran, the British were taking an 80% profit share and under-reporting profits so that Iran didn't receive much money.
  • Iran nationalised the industry, the British banned international tankers from taking Iranian oil.
Illustrative background for What happened in the coup against Mossadegh?Illustrative background for What happened in the coup against Mossadegh? ?? "content

What happened in the coup against Mossadegh?

  • An American CIA agent called Kermit Roosevelt co-ordinated a coup against Mossadegh.
  • Winston Churchill replaced Clement Attlee as Prime Minister and Eisenhower replaced Truman as American President. Churchill supported the British Empire and Eisenhower was a stronger anti-communist.
  • Mossadegh was overthrown and replaced with the Shah.
  • The Anglo Iranian Oil Company was renamed British Petroleum and the rights to Iranian oil were shared with Shell and American oil companies.
Illustrative background for Historical views on British relations with IranIllustrative background for Historical views on British relations with Iran ?? "content

Historical views on British relations with Iran

  • Stephen Kinzer asks ‘How did Iran reach the tragic crossroads of August 1953?'
    • 'The main responsibility lies with the obtuse neo-colonialism that guided the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co and with the British government's willingness to accept it’.
  • The historian, James A Bill states that ‘American policy in Iran during the early 1950s succeeded in ensuring that there would be no communist takeover and that Iranian oil reserves would be available to the Western world’.

Jump to other topics

1High Water Mark of the British Empire, 1857-1914

2Imperial Consolidation & Liberal Rule, 1890-1914

3Imperialism Challenged, 1914-1967

4The Wind of Change, 1947-1967

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