Reza Shah’s staunchly neutral stance during World War Two
and his unwillingness to expel German nationals or allow the
Allies to use the strategic Trans-Iranian Railway raised fears that
he would align his oil-rich country with Nazi Germany. This
drove Britain and the Soviet Union to invade Iran and force
Reza Shah to abdicate power to his son Mohammad Reza
Shah Pahlavi in 1941.5 In the aftermath of this intervention
and amidst increasingly competitive politics in the postwar
era, voices in Iran began to call for the nationalization of the
oil industry as a means of strengthening Iranian sovereignty