Near the end of the 1960s, there were a number of shifts underway throughout the international landscape: the Cold War was the recognized reality of global politics, the long process of decolonization was still forging ahead, and the United States was caught in a quagmire in Vietnam. Repressive and authoritarian dictators controlled much of Latin America, the Middle East was still gripped by the drama of the Six-Day War, and an Islamic revival was beginning to take root in the Muslim world. In Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was at the apex of his power.