USA, IRAN &

the MIDDLE
EAST
US – IRAN RELATIONS
BRIEF OVERVIEW
The United States and Iran have had a very long relationship. I think one of the
things that is frequently missed is how deep that relationship is. There is a tendency
among people who study this history to fixate on two canonical dates: 1979 and
1953. The former being the Iran hostage crisis, when radicalized students stormed
the U.S. embassy and took American diplomatic personnel hostage for over a year,
and the latter being the year in which the CIA-backed coup against the popular and
constitutionally elected Prime Minister Mossadegh. I think that’s a shame because
there’s a much longer and richer history that precedes 1953 or 1979.

There is a long history of mutual fascination and admiration dating back to the 18th
century, when colonial Americans had a sort of romanticized image of Persia, and
dating into the late 19th century, when generations of Iranian reformists were
fascinated by and inspired by American democracy and constitutionalism.
BRIEF OVERVIEW
Probably the highest point in the relations between the two countries
came in the first 20 years of the 20th century, when you had a very
popular treasurer general by the name of Morgan Shuster, who was
sent over in 1911 to reorganize Iran’s finances and became a sort of
hero to the Iranian constitutional movement. As well as in 1919, when
the Wilson administration quite forcefully and vocally opposed British
attempts to turn Iran into a de facto protectorate. There were pro-
American riots in the streets of Iran in 1919. That’s only 100 years ago.
That was the world that was lost after 1953, and I think too much of a
fixation on recent events and times obscures that fact that this has
been a long and very positive relationship in many ways.
US – IRAN RELATIONS TIMELINE
1921- Reza Khan names himself shah of
Persia
Reza Khan, a military officer in Persia’s
Cossack Brigade, names himself shah of Persia
after staging a coup, backed by the British,
against the government of the Qajar Dynasty.
He begins to implement a series of reforms
aimed at modernizing the country, which
include building a national railroad system and
implementing a secular education system. At
the same time, he censors the press, 
suppresses trade unions and 
bans political parties. Later in his rule, he 
bans the hijab and encourages western dress.
1925- Ahmad Shah is deposed
Already living in exile, Ahmad Shah, the Qajar
dynasty’s final ruler, is deposed, and an
assembly votes in Reza Khan (who had
adopted the last name Pahlavi) as the new
shah.
Ahmad Shah was formally crowned on 21 July 1914, upon
reaching his majority. He attempted to fix the damage done
by his father by appointing the best ministers he could find.
He was, however, an ineffective ruler who was faced with
internal unrest and foreign intrusions, particularly by the
British Empire and Russian Empire. Russian and British troops
fought against the Ottoman Empire forces in Persia during
World War I.
PERSIAN TERRITORIES
Downfall of Ahmad Shah further
explained:
In 1917, Britain used Persia as the springboard for an attack into Russia in an
unsuccessful attempt to reverse the Russian Revolution of 1917. The newly born Soviet
Union responded by annexing portions of northern Persia as buffer states much like its
Tsarist predecessor. Marching on Tehran, the Soviets extracted ever more humiliating
concessions from the Persian government – whose ministers Ahmad Shah was often
unable to control. The weakness of the government in the face of such aggression by an
atheist foreign power sparked seething anger among many traditional Persians.
By 1920, the government had virtually lost all power outside the capital and Ahmad
Shah had lost control of the situation. The Anglo-Persian Agreement, along with new
political parties, further immobilized the country. The Moderates and Democrats often
clashed, particularly when it came to minority rights and secularism. The debates
between the two political parties led to violence and even assassinations.
The weak economic state of Persia put Ahmad Shah and his government at the mercy
of foreign influence; they had to obtain loans from the Imperial Bank of Persia.
Furthermore, under the Anglo-Persian Agreement, Persia received only a small fraction
of the income generated by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. On the other hand, the Red
Army along with rebels and warlords ruled much of the countryside.
1935 – Persia is officially renamed Iran
Reza Khan asks other nations to call Persia “Iran” in formal diplomatic
correspondence. Also, by the mid-’30s, Reza Khan’s dictatorial approach
begins to cause dissent.

PERSIA IRAN
1941 – Reza Khan is forced out
Although Reza Khan declares Iran 
a neutral power during World War II,
 Iran’s British-controlled oil interests are
largely maintained by German engineers
and technicians, and Khan refuses to expel
German citizens despite a request by
Britain. In September 1941, following
British and Soviet occupation of western
Iran, Reza Shah is forced out of power. His
son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi,
succeeds him on the throne.
1949 – The shah’s powers are expanded
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
survives an assassination attempt.
Afterward, he calls for the
convening of a Constituent
Assembly. The group amends the
nation’s constitution to give the
shah the power to dissolve the
parliament.
1951 – Nationalizing the oil industry
Lawmaker Mohammed Mosaddegh, who has gained considerable
political power, pushes through a measure that nationalizes the British-
owned oil industry in Iran. The same year, the nation’s legislative body
overwhelmingly nominates Mossadegh as prime minister, forcing the
shah to appoint him to the post.
The Oil Cartel of the Past
In 1951, Iran nationalized its oil industry previously controlled by the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP), and Iranian oil was subjected to
an international embargo. In an effort to bring Iranian oil production
back to international markets, the U.S. State Department suggested the
creation of a consortium of major oil companies. The "Consortium for
Iran" was subsequently formed by the following companies:
The Seven Sisters
1. Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (United Kingdom) – This company became British
Petroleum.
2. Gulf Oil (United States)
3. Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands/United Kingdom)
4. Standard Oil Co. of California (SoCal) (United States) – Became Chevron in
1984.
5. Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey (Esso) (United States) – Became Exxon, which
renamed itself ExxonMobil.
6. Standard Oil Co. of New York (Socony) (United States) – Became Mobil, which
was acquired by Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil.
7. Texaco (United States)
The New Seven Sisters
Preceding the 1973 oil crisis, the Seven Sisters controlled around 85 per cent of the
world's petroleum reserves. Since then, industry dominance has shifted to the OPEC
cartel and state-owned oil and gas companies in emerging-market economies, such as
1. Saudi Aramco,
2. Gazprom (Russia);
3. China National Petroleum Corporation;
4. National Iranian Oil Company;
5. PDVSA (Venezuela);
6. Petrobras (Brazil), and
7. Petronas (Malaysia).
In 2007, the Financial Times called these "the new Seven Sisters".
Seven Sisters: Past and Present
1953 - Mosaddegh overthrown
The power struggle between
Mosaddegh and the shah comes to a
head when the shah attempts to
dismiss Mosaddegh from his position –
a move urged by the U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency. 
Protesters take to the streets, forcing
the shah to flee the country. But the
shah returns to Iran when Gen.
Fazlollah Zahedi — with backing from
the CIA — overthrows Mosaddegh in an
August coup d’etat.
1953- Mosaddegh overthrown
1957 – The creation of Iran’s intelligence
organization
U.S. and Israeli intelligence officers
work with Iran to set up SAVAK, an
Iranian intelligence organization. The
organization is later blamed for the 
torture and execution of thousands of
political prisoners and violent
suppression of dissent, according to 
Amnesty International.
SAVAK Victims

Torture still scars Iranians 40 years after revolution. “We are far from where we must be as far as the
justice is concerned,” said Ahmad Sheikhi, a 63-year-old former revolutionary once tortured at the
prison. “Justice has yet to be spread in the society, and we are definitely very far from the sacred
goals of the martyrs and their imam,” Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.