Iran After WW2

History: KS3, topic 14.1.12

Iran After World War Two

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Which country created an oil company with the USA to trigger discontent in Iran in the 1950s?