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.