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During World
War II, Britain and the USSR invaded Iran from
August 25 to September 17, 1941, to stop an Axis
supported coup and secure Iran's oil resources
supply. The Allies of World War II forced the
shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi, who they hoped would be more supportive
of them. In 1953, following the nationalization
of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, democratically
elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh attempted
to convince the Shah to leave the country. The
Shah refused, and formally dismissed the Prime
Minister. Mossadegh also refused to leave, and
when it became evident that he was going to fight,
the Shah (as foreseen by the British/American
"Operation Ajax") fled to Baghdad as
a precautionary measure and on from there to Rome.
Massive
protests broke out across the nation. Anti- and
pro-monarchy protestors violently clashed in the
streets, leaving almost 300 dead. The military
intervened as the pro-Shah tank regiments stormed
the capital and bombarded the prime minister's
official residence. Mossadegh surrendered, and
was arrested on August 19, 1953. Mossadegh was
tried for treason, and sentenced to three years
in prison.
The Shah
was reinstated and power handed to Shah Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi, whose rule became increasingly dictatorial
in the following years, particularly the late
1970s. With strong support from the US and UK,
the Shah further modernized Iranian industry,
but simultaneously crushed opposition from the
Shia clergy and from advocates of democracy.
In the 1970s,
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini gained much popularity
among Iranians. Islamists, communists and liberals
staged the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Shah
fled the country, after which Khomeini eventually
succeeded in taking power and establishing an
Islamic republic. The new system established conservative
Islamic laws and unprecedented levels of direct
clerical rule. Past governments have criticized
the West and in particular the US for support
of the Shah. Relations were severely strained
in 1979, after Iranian students seized US embassy
personnel. Subsequently, there were attempts to
export the Islamic revolution, and support anti-Western
militant groups such as Lebanese Hezbollah. From
1980-1988, Iran and neighbouring Iraq engaged
in the destructive Iran-Iraq War.
The struggle
between reformists and conservatives continues
today through electoral politics, and was a central
focus in the Iranian presidential election of
2005, which resulted in the election of Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad. Since then, there has been an increase
in tensions between Iran and the US, particularly
with regard to Iran's nuclear program. Iran claims
the right to research nuclear energy for peaceful
purposes, under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty, which it has signed. It has been reported
that the Bush Administration has not ruled out
using nuclear weapons against Iran which, if it
were to occur, would be the first hostile nuclear
bombing since World War II. Other members of the
UN Security Council, in particular Russia and
China, oppose military action. Significantly,
Iran was recently elected vice-chair on the UN
Disarmament Commission. Recently, Iran announced
it is researching the construction of a P2 centrifuge,
which can be used to develop nuclear weapons.
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