Building Independent States (1800s to 1960), Part 5

Question 1: Describe the 1943 Tehran Declaration.

Answer 1: The 1943 Tehran Declaration came of a conference between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Great Britain, and the United States, as those powers planned for the final stages of World War II. In the declaration, all three nations recognized Iran’s sovereignty and independence. In addition, they acknowledged the economic difficulties Iran had faced due to world war and pledged to help Iran, declaring, “The Three Governments realize that the war has caused special economic difficulties for Iran, and they are agreed that they will continue to make available to the Government of Iran such economic assistance as may be possible, having regard to the heavy demands made upon them by their world-wide military operations, and to the world-wide shortage of transport, raw materials, and supplies for civilian consumption.

Question 2: Describe how the Allied occupation of Iran during World War II destabilized that nation.

Answer 2: D Allied occupation of Iran weakened the shah’s power, and this gave political parties and ethnic minorities an opportunity to organize and increase their own power. For example, an Iranian Marxist party called the Tudeh (“the Masses”) was founded in 1941. Kurds and Armenians agitated for increased independence from Iran’s central government. In addition, the ulama were able to gain back power and funds they had lost while the shah was still really in control (not merely nominally in control). The use of Iran as a supply line for the Soviets – and the Soviet presence in the nation – during the war increased Soviet influence on Iran, as the Soviets supported the Tudeh, the Kurds, and the Armenians. The economic conditions of the Iran fed unrest, as Iranians faced high inflation and too little food.

Question 3: Describe how the Soviets sought to expand their influence on Iran in the 1940s.

Answer 3: The Soviet Union sought to expand its influence in Iran by cultivating ties with and supporting the Tudeh (an Iranian Marxist party) and supporting Kurds and Armenians rebelling against Iran’s central government. In addition, they also sought – and gained – an oil concession from Iran. According to a 1942 agreement between the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, these powers were to withdraw their troops from Iran by six months after the war’s end. However, the Soviets did not do so. They had occupied Azerbaijan (a northwest part of Iran) during the war, and after the war, the Soviets supported the Tudeh in establishing two independent states in Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. However, these states failed, harshly destroyed by Iran under Muhammad Reza Shah in 1946.

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