13.1.12

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.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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