Changes

Under Reza Shah's reign, Iran began to modernize and to secularize, and the central government reasserted its authority over the tribes and provinces. During World War Two the Allies feared the monarch close relations with Nazi Germany. In September 1941, following the occupation of western Iran by the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, Reza Shah was forced to abdicate. His son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became Shah and would rule until 1979.  

Under Reza Shah's reign, Iran began to modernize and to secularize, and the central government reasserted its authority over the tribes and provinces. During World War Two the Allies feared the monarch close relations with Nazi Germany. In September 1941, following the occupation of western Iran by the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, Reza Shah was forced to abdicate. His son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became Shah and would rule until 1979.  

====1921-41====

====1921 - 1941====

In the years following [[World War I]] the [[Soviet Union]] and [[British Empire]] routinely interfered in the internal affairs and violated the territorial integrity of Iran. To counterbalance British and Soviet influence, Reza Shah encouraged German commercial enterprise in Iran.  Reza Shah became increasingly enamored of [[Hitler]] and [[Nazi Germany]]. Ambassador Fritz Grobba, often called "the German Lawrence of Arabia," promised an Islamic state stretching from [[Casablanca]] to Tehran. Edwin Black writes<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Denial-of-Holocaust-nothing-new-in-Iran-Ties-to-2507165.php</ref>,

In the years following [[World War I]] the [[Soviet Union]] and [[British Empire]] routinely interfered in the internal affairs and violated the territorial integrity of Iran. To counterbalance British and Soviet influence, Reza Shah encouraged German commercial enterprise in Iran.  Reza Shah became increasingly enamored of [[Hitler]] and [[Nazi Germany]]. Ambassador Fritz Grobba, often called "the German Lawrence of Arabia," promised an Islamic state stretching from [[Casablanca]] to Tehran. Edwin Black writes<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Denial-of-Holocaust-nothing-new-in-Iran-Ties-to-2507165.php</ref>,

{{quotebox|So intense was the Shah's identification with the [[Third Reich]] that in 1935 he renamed his ancient country "Iran," which in Farsi means Aryan and refers to the Proto-Indo-European lineage that [[Nazi]] racial theorists and Persian ethnologists cherished.

{{quotebox|So intense was the Shah's identification with the [[Third Reich]] that in 1935 he renamed his ancient country "Iran," which in Farsi means Aryan and refers to the Proto-Indo-European lineage that [[Nazi]] racial theorists and Persian ethnologists cherished.

When Hitler reneged on [[Molotov-Ribbentrop pact]] and attacked his former ally, [[Winston Churchill]] flew to [[Moscow]], assured the Soviet Union of assistance, and the fate of Reza Shah was sealed.  The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran deposed the Iranian monarch in favor of his son, [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], who proved to be a loyal ally in the war against Hitler and continued his father's pro-Western reform movement throughout his nearly forty year reign.  The British controlled Iraqi zone remained unstable and dangerous.<ref>See Iraqforce and Tenth Army (United Kingdom) for more on British and Indian forces deployed to Iraq from 1941-43.</ref> Greater safety, but most of all Iran's geographical benefit of a direct route for supplies into the USSR across their common border, made the Persian Corridor an important conduit for [[Lend-Lease]] aid to the USSR.  The wartime [[Casablanca Conference]], [[Tehran Conference]], and [[Cairo Conference]]} were symbolic of failed German designs upon [[North Africa]] and the [[Middle East]].

When Hitler reneged on [[Molotov-Ribbentrop pact]] and attacked his former ally, [[Winston Churchill]] flew to [[Moscow]], assured the Soviet Union of assistance, and the fate of Reza Shah was sealed.  The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran deposed the Iranian monarch in favor of his son, [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], who proved to be a loyal ally in the war against Hitler and continued his father's pro-Western reform movement throughout his nearly forty year reign.  The British controlled Iraqi zone remained unstable and dangerous.<ref>See Iraqforce and Tenth Army (United Kingdom) for more on British and Indian forces deployed to Iraq from 1941-43.</ref> Greater safety, but most of all Iran's geographical benefit of a direct route for supplies into the USSR across their common border, made the Persian Corridor an important conduit for [[Lend-Lease]] aid to the USSR.  The wartime [[Casablanca Conference]], [[Tehran Conference]], and [[Cairo Conference]]} were symbolic of failed German designs upon [[North Africa]] and the [[Middle East]].

====1941-48====

====1941 - 1948====

During [[World War II]] Iran was openly partial to the Axis cause. A joint Anglo-Soviet military action began on 25 August 1941 when 40,000 Soviet troops entered Iran from the north and headed for Tehran. On the same day about 19,000 British Commonwealth troops, mostly in Indian brigades, entered from various directions. There was slight resistance on the part of Iranian troops but no force Iran could not have withstood the power of the occupying armies of British Empire and the Soviet Union, and German assistance by air was now as far away as Crete. On 30 August 1941 identical notes were submitted by the invading powers to the Iranian Government which accepted their terms on 9 September. On 16 September the Shah abdicated in favor of his son, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, and left the country. The next day Tehran was jointly occupied by the British and Soviet troops without show of military force.

During [[World War II]] Iran was openly partial to the Axis cause. A joint Anglo-Soviet military action began on 25 August 1941 when 40,000 Soviet troops entered Iran from the north and headed for Tehran. On the same day about 19,000 British Commonwealth troops, mostly in Indian brigades, entered from various directions. There was slight resistance on the part of Iranian troops but no force Iran could not have withstood the power of the occupying armies of British Empire and the Soviet Union, and German assistance by air was now as far away as Crete. On 30 August 1941 identical notes were submitted by the invading powers to the Iranian Government which accepted their terms on 9 September. On 16 September the Shah abdicated in favor of his son, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, and left the country. The next day Tehran was jointly occupied by the British and Soviet troops without show of military force.

Soviet political "agitprops," graduates from the Lenin Institute in Moscow, were dispatched to exploit whatever resentment and hostility toward the "imperialist warmongers" of the West they might encounter or stir up. The [[Tudeh party]], founded early in 1942, at once began to lay the ground work for the Communist uprisings which followed World War II. The Tudeh party, guided by the Soviet officials who at the same time were supervising the movement of American [[lend-lease]] aid to the Soviet Union through Iran, began openly agitating against the Anglo-Saxon "exploiters."  By 1944 Iran's mushrooming, Soviet-financed Tudeh press openly called the British and Americans "[[fascists]]," "[[reactionary|reactionaries]]," and "[[imperialism|imperialist]]." <ref>[http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/yaltabet.html ''The Yalta Betrayal''], Felix Wittmer, Claxton Printers, 1953, pg. 20, 54.</ref>

Soviet political "agitprops," graduates from the Lenin Institute in Moscow, were dispatched to exploit whatever resentment and hostility toward the "imperialist warmongers" of the West they might encounter or stir up. The [[Tudeh party]], founded early in 1942, at once began to lay the ground work for the Communist uprisings which followed World War II. The Tudeh party, guided by the Soviet officials who at the same time were supervising the movement of American [[lend-lease]] aid to the Soviet Union through Iran, began openly agitating against the Anglo-Saxon "exploiters."  By 1944 Iran's mushrooming, Soviet-financed Tudeh press openly called the British and Americans "[[fascists]]," "[[reactionary|reactionaries]]," and "[[imperialism|imperialist]]." <ref>[http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/yaltabet.html ''The Yalta Betrayal''], Felix Wittmer, Claxton Printers, 1953, pg. 20, 54.</ref>

====1949-79====

====1949 - 1979====

In 1949 the Angelo-Persian Oil Company negotiated an agreement with the Iranian government under which it would pay the government 25 to 30 per cent of its net profits,  The British government controlled 52 per cent of the stock of the company.  Under pressure from the Shia clergy and members of the Communist [[Tudeh party]], the Iranian government led by Prime Minister [[Mohammed Mossadegh]] did not ratify the agreement and on May 2, 1951, nationalized ownership of the oil industry.  In October Britain shut down Abadan, the world's largest refinery, on the Persian Gulf, and boycotted Iranian oil for the next two years.  30 per cent of Iran's national income previously came from oil exports.  Iranian production fell from 424,000 barrels a day in 1947 to 59,000 in 1954, while Saudi Arabia rose from 246,000 barrels to 953,000, and Kuwait from 45,000 barrels to 953,000.

In 1949 the Angelo-Persian Oil Company negotiated an agreement with the Iranian government under which it would pay the government 25 to 30 per cent of its net profits,  The British government controlled 52 per cent of the stock of the company.  Under pressure from the Shia clergy and members of the Communist [[Tudeh party]], the Iranian government led by Prime Minister [[Mohammed Mossadegh]] did not ratify the agreement and on May 2, 1951, nationalized ownership of the oil industry.  In October Britain shut down Abadan, the world's largest refinery, on the Persian Gulf, and boycotted Iranian oil for the next two years.  30 per cent of Iran's national income previously came from oil exports.  Iranian production fell from 424,000 barrels a day in 1947 to 59,000 in 1954, while Saudi Arabia rose from 246,000 barrels to 953,000, and Kuwait from 45,000 barrels to 953,000.

[[Image:Mossadeghriot.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Rioters raise a poster of Mossadegh at the palace gates of the Shah in August, 1953.]]

[[Image:Mossadeghriot.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Rioters raise a poster of Mossadegh at the palace gates of the Shah in August, 1953.]]

The Shah recognized and secured formal diplomatic relations with [[Israel]] and did he participate in the Arab oil embargoes during the [[Six Day War]] of 1967 and [[Yom Kippur War]] of 1973. The US and British Mediterranean Fleets were provided with oil by the Shah.  During the Yom Kippur War the Shah deterred [[Sadam Hussein]] from playing any role by moving Iranian troops to the border, and with covert aid to the [[Kurds]] of Iraq which kept the Iraqi Army diverted.

The Shah recognized and secured formal diplomatic relations with [[Israel]] and did he participate in the Arab oil embargoes during the [[Six Day War]] of 1967 and [[Yom Kippur War]] of 1973. The US and British Mediterranean Fleets were provided with oil by the Shah.  During the Yom Kippur War the Shah deterred [[Sadam Hussein]] from playing any role by moving Iranian troops to the border, and with covert aid to the [[Kurds]] of Iraq which kept the Iraqi Army diverted.

====1979-1981====

====1979 - 1981====

{{Main|Islamic Revolution}}

{{Main|Islamic Revolution}}

[[Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini]] emerged as an active critic of the Shah's increasingly autocratic government.  Khomeini was imprisoned and later exiled, but popular anti-government sentiment continued to spread.  

[[Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini]] emerged as an active critic of the Shah's increasingly autocratic government.  Khomeini was imprisoned and later exiled, but popular anti-government sentiment continued to spread.  

Khomeini returned from exile in France to Teheran on 31 January 1979. On 11 February the Shah fled, and mobs armed with machine guns attacked the U.S. embassy. Iran's armed forces did not respond. On 3 November 1979, the American embassy was stormed again, and 66 U.S. personnel were taken prisoner. Thirteen were released in a few days, but the remainder stayed captive in Iran until 30 minutes after Jimmy Carter had turned the White House over to Ronald Reagan at noon on 21 January 1981.<ref>Grinter, Dr. Lawrence E. [http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1983/jan-feb/grinter.html ''Avoiding the Burden: The Carter Doctrine in Perspective''] Vol. XXXIV, No. 2 (January–February 1983): 73-82.</ref>

Khomeini returned from exile in France to Teheran on 31 January 1979. On 11 February the Shah fled, and mobs armed with machine guns attacked the U.S. embassy. Iran's armed forces did not respond. On 3 November 1979, the American embassy was stormed again, and 66 U.S. personnel were taken prisoner. Thirteen were released in a few days, but the remainder stayed captive in Iran until 30 minutes after Jimmy Carter had turned the White House over to Ronald Reagan at noon on 21 January 1981.<ref>Grinter, Dr. Lawrence E. [http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1983/jan-feb/grinter.html ''Avoiding the Burden: The Carter Doctrine in Perspective''] Vol. XXXIV, No. 2 (January–February 1983): 73-82.</ref>

====1984-2001====

====1984 - 2001====

In 1984 the Reagan administration as part of its policy of [[Containment]], and in seeking to secure an ally for [[Israel]], sought to repair the breach that occurred with a longtime ally in 1980.  [[Oliver North]] of the [[National Security Council]] staff was dispatched to Tehran with a proposal to reconcile the United States and Israels differences with the Shia Islamic regime.  The proposal entailed sales of Tow missiles to help Iran break the deadlock in the trench war with Iraq.  The United States and its allies feared a militarized Iraq could pose a threat to the region, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, if Iraq emerged from the war as victor.

In 1984 the Reagan administration as part of its policy of [[Containment]], and in seeking to secure an ally for [[Israel]], sought to repair the breach that occurred with a longtime ally in 1980.  [[Oliver North]] of the [[National Security Council]] staff was dispatched to Tehran with a proposal to reconcile the United States and Israels differences with the Shia Islamic regime.  The proposal entailed sales of Tow missiles to help Iran break the deadlock in the trench war with Iraq.  The United States and its allies feared a militarized Iraq could pose a threat to the region, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, if Iraq emerged from the war as victor.

Khatami was seen by some in the West as a possible Iranian version of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]].  The [[United Kingdom]] reestablished relations with Iran in 1999.  His coalition was dominated by persons who clearly wished to make Iran a normal country.  However, the limitations of the President in the Iranian system allowed Iranian conservatives to marginalize his supporters and close media outlets friendly to his policies.  Although he won reelection in 2001 and cooperated with the United States to some extent against their mutual enemy the [[Taliban]], his supporters were not able to take the next logical step that [[Boris Yeltsin]] and other anti-communist [[Russians]] did under Gorbachev, that is, unite to completely replace the existing political system.  Because they had been able to outmaneuver him politically, Iranian conservatives also did not oblige with a corresponding [[coup d'état]] against Khatami.  Normal relations with the United States probably will require just this sort of replacement of the existing Iranian constitution, but the popularity of Khatami and congruent popular distaste for his successor indicates that may be possible without war.

Khatami was seen by some in the West as a possible Iranian version of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]].  The [[United Kingdom]] reestablished relations with Iran in 1999.  His coalition was dominated by persons who clearly wished to make Iran a normal country.  However, the limitations of the President in the Iranian system allowed Iranian conservatives to marginalize his supporters and close media outlets friendly to his policies.  Although he won reelection in 2001 and cooperated with the United States to some extent against their mutual enemy the [[Taliban]], his supporters were not able to take the next logical step that [[Boris Yeltsin]] and other anti-communist [[Russians]] did under Gorbachev, that is, unite to completely replace the existing political system.  Because they had been able to outmaneuver him politically, Iranian conservatives also did not oblige with a corresponding [[coup d'état]] against Khatami.  Normal relations with the United States probably will require just this sort of replacement of the existing Iranian constitution, but the popularity of Khatami and congruent popular distaste for his successor indicates that may be possible without war.

====2001-15====

====2001 - 2015====

Iran is currently ruled by the Grand Ayatollah [[Ali Khamenei]], the second theocrat of the country, who has been in office since the death of Khomenei in 1989.  He is considered to have a less extreme anti-Western bias than his predecessor. It is governed on a day-to-day basis by President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]], who is suspected by several Western nations to be developing nuclear weapons to use against Israel and America. Domestically, however, he is facing questioning and possible impeachment by the Iranian Parliament, who see him as too extreme.   

Iran is currently ruled by the Grand Ayatollah [[Ali Khamenei]], the second theocrat of the country, who has been in office since the death of Khomenei in 1989.  He is considered to have a less extreme anti-Western bias than his predecessor. It is governed on a day-to-day basis by President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]], who is suspected by several Western nations to be developing nuclear weapons to use against Israel and America. Domestically, however, he is facing questioning and possible impeachment by the Iranian Parliament, who see him as too extreme.   

In the Iranian presidential elections of 2013, the reformist [[Hassan Rouhani]] won.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06/15/early-results-in-iran-presidential-election-give-reformist-backed-rowhani-wide/</ref> Rouhani wants to improve the relationships with the US and Israel. But it does make no difference because the real power got Ali Khamenei.<ref>http://frontpagemag.com/2013/davidhornik/the-islamic-republic-goes-to-the-polls/</ref>

In the Iranian presidential elections of 2013, the reformist [[Hassan Rouhani]] won.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06/15/early-results-in-iran-presidential-election-give-reformist-backed-rowhani-wide/</ref> Rouhani wants to improve the relationships with the US and Israel. But it does make no difference because the real power got Ali Khamenei.<ref>http://frontpagemag.com/2013/davidhornik/the-islamic-republic-goes-to-the-polls/</ref>

====2015-present====

====2015 - present====

:{{See also|2021 Gaza War}}

:{{See also|2021 Gaza War}}

In 2015 [[President Barack Obama]] negotiated an [[Iranian nuke deal]] allowing Iran to build [[nuclear weapons]] in 13 years. In 2018 [[President Donald Trump]] rescinded the deal.

In 2015 [[President Barack Obama]] negotiated an [[Iranian nuke deal]] allowing Iran to build [[nuclear weapons]] in 13 years. In 2018 [[President Donald Trump]] rescinded the deal.