What Was the Importance of the Intervention in Iran?

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The British wanted direct control of oil and the Soviets wanted a land corridor to their country. They forced Reza Shah to abdicate and replaced him with his son, Muhammad Reza Shah. Why did they intervene in this way and then why did they believe it was necessary to replace the Shah? And where does that moment fit into that much longer history of British and Russian imperialism in Iran?

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the second episode in our four-part series. We begin in 1941 with the British-Soviet occupation of Iran, the ouster of Reza Shah and his replacement by his son, Mohammad Reza Shah. We continue with the rise of the Tudeh communist party, the nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Mohammad Mosaddegh's National Party coming to power, and the 1953 US-British coup that overthrew Mosaddegh and reinstalled Mohammad Reza Shah as dictator. His brutal reign continued until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which is where we will pick up in episode three. Support this podcast at Patreon.com/TheDig Check out The Sinking Middle Class by David Roediger haymarketbooks.org/books/1879-the-sinking-middle-class