Muḥammad Reza Pahlavi ¹ was born on October 26, 1919 in Tehran to Shah [King] Reza Pahlavi and al-Mulūk. His father sent him to the Swiss boarding school, Le Rosey, to receive his primary education. He returned to Tehran in 1935 and joined the military academy which he graduated from in 1938. Despite a formal declaration of neutrality, his father maintained good relations with Nazi Germany during World War II and thus caused concerns among the allied powers, particularly due to Iran’s large natural resources of oil and gas which could be used by the Germans. British and Soviet troops that penetrated Iran. As a result of the political pressures put on the Iranian ruler, he stepped down and allowed Muhammad Reza to become his successor. He was the second and last leader of the rather short Pahlavi dynasty that lasted from 1925 with the crowning of his father Reza Shah until 1979 with the fall of the monarchy in the Islamic Revolution. In 1975 he crowned himself the Shāhanshāh which is usually translated as emperor. The literal Persian word means “King of Kings”. The ceremony marked the 2500 year history of the Persian monarchy, and Mohammad Reza declared that he was following the line of the Ancient Persian kings. ²

Muhammad Reza Shah became the King of Iran in 1941 after his father stepped down. Although there was an elected parliament in Iran, called the Majlis, which was intended to limit the powers of the monarchy, the Shah controlled the legislation, executive and judiciary. Bills that were passed by the parliament required the Shah's final consent. At the end of the 1960s, the Shah abolished the multi party system in Iran and had a tighter grip over the internal political processes in order to accelerate the implementation of the White Revolution. ³ At the end of the Second World War, British and American troops, the latter being stationed and not an occupying force, left the country. Thus, the Soviet Union remained the only foreign power in the country, in particular controlling Iran's northern territories in the province of Azerbaijan, which was actually was in the hands of the Soviets. Muhammad Reza Shah sought to end the Soviet challenges to Iranian sovereignty. His concerns were confirmed after reports that the communists' political forces were trying to enter the capital. ⁴

The Soviet Union and the Shah
In order to find a power to protect the country, the Shah approached the U.S for assistance. It has been suggested that the Soviet grip on power in Azerbaijan and the communist trends in Tehran have contributed significantly to the change of US attitude toward the Soviet Union which in World War II had been portrayed as respected, reliable friends who became victims of Nazi aggression. This change is said to have resulted in the containment policy in the Truman Doctrine in 1947. ⁵

The Shah received a lot of support from the Iranian public for his efforts to pull the province of Azerbaijan from Soviet control back under Iranian control in the 1950s. However, at a speech during a press conference in Budapest in 1966, the Shah described the Soviet Union as a mutual partner and neighbor with whom Iran was interested in establishing cordial economic, political and cultural relations.

He specifically mentions the construction of a dam planned for 1970. ⁶ Despite strong restrictions on communist activities in Iran, the Shah tried to establish stable and friendly relations with the Soviet Union but at the same time remain careful not to compromise the country's strong connections to the U.S who would penalize Iran if they felt that bonds had become too strong with the Soviet Union. Thus, U.S-Iranian relations became stronger in comparison to those with the Soviet Union. ⁷ It can be assumed that U.S acceptance of any Iranian-Soviet affairs was due to the beginning of the Détente era in U.S-Soviet relations in the late 1960s. Furthermore, the Soviet Union generally accepted a country if it was politically connected with the U.S as long as it was not hostile to the Soviets. ⁸

The U.S and the Shah
The U.S was the prime financial contributor to the White Revolution, a high scale modernization and land distribution program, and the military armament of Iran which had advanced military technology at its disposal and which became elevated to a position of a dominant power in the Gulf region. The US viewed Iran as the watchman of the Middle East, a region that was becoming more and more crucial due its oil resources. Stability in this area was highly important for the free access to this increasingly important natural resource. ⁹

Dr. Musaddaq and the Shah
The two predominant principles that have been attributed to the Shah’s policy are often referred to as nationalism and modernization¹⁰. Among the most prominent nationalist opponents was Dr. Muhammad Musaddaq who became the leader of the Majlis and criticized the Shah for his openness toward the West and the British control of Iranian oil. Dr. Musaddaq was popular among the general public for his outspoken nationalistic attitudes and criticism of the Shah, accusing him of selling Iran out to the West. In March 1951, Dr. Musaddaq managed to push through the bill for the nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). Increasing public support is often stated as the major reason why Dr. Musaddaq was named prime minister in April 1951. ¹¹

The AIOC responded by imposing an embargo on Iranian oil. The embargo was considered to have hurt both countries. Iran’s fragile economy, like today, is built on oil revenues. and for the UK, the AIOC was a highly profitable enterprise, particularly considering the development of oil as one of the most important resources in the world.

Both parties found themselves in a stalemate situation with no room for compromise. The US, under President Truman, refused to carry out any action against Dr. Musaddaq despite intense British lobbying. However the next US president, Eisenhower, was persuaded to assist in a joint coup d’état by British, American and loyal Shah intelligence agents. The British pointed to the growing support for

the communist Tudeh party in Iran and claimed that Dr. Musaddaq was involved although there is no indication that Dr. Musaddaq had any kind of communist aims or followed a communist agenda.

Eisenhower’s willingness to intervene in Iran due to British claims about a rise in communism under Musaddaq’s influence must be regarded from the historical and political context of the Cold War. The U.S in this period was very sensitive about any events that could lead to an increase in Soviet power.

Operation “Ajax”, the name given to the plan for the coup, took approximately one year to prepare and was carried out in 1953. It should have formally given the Shah the chance to remove Musaddaq from power and replace him with General Fazlollah Zahedi, who was the preferred choice of the British and the Americans. However, the plan failed and the Shah was sent into exile. There was a second attempt at the operation that proved to be successful. The Shah returned to Iran, General Zahedi was made Prime Minister and Dr. Musaddaq was silenced. ¹² It is interesting to note that despite this operation, Iranian oil production remained nationalized.

Ardeshi Zahedi, the son of Dr. Musaddaq’s successor General Zahedi claims that Dr. Musaddaq did not fall from power primarily because of the joint U.S, U.K and royal supporters venture but rather because of the breakup of his political base. Many of Dr. Musaddaq’s previous supporters turned against him and his despotic rule. He argues that the CIA was trying to take the credit for the removal but in reality support for Dr. Musaddaq was already broken and weak enough to be wiped away by the external forces. ¹³

The Clergy and the Shah

It has been argued that Muhammad Reza Shah was better able to communicate with Iranian clerics than his father. He held meetings with major members of the clergy and ended the ban on head scarves for women. However, clerical opposition remained because of the Shah’s alliance with the U.S. ¹⁴ Tensions rose intensively during the White Revolution. In the White Revolution, a nationwide modernization project was carried out to improve the infrastructure, industry, and the public sector as well as modernize the traditional market system in Iran. Special units were also created to help develop better standards in literacy, health and education. Later, the Shah suggested that these units be used at an international level to tackle the worldwide problems of malnutrition and health issues. ¹⁵

Land was also distributed in favor of around four million Iranians. There are assumptions that several of the big land owners, whose property was taken, were clerics. Furthermore, the Shah introduced female suffrage in 1963 and qualification exams for clerics, breaking with old religious traditions of Shīcah Islam. He also introduced the new 'Imperial Calendar' which was based on the crowning of the ancient Persian King Cyrus and not on Islamic theology. ¹⁶ Ayatollah Khomeini led several demonstrations against the monarch’s policy. The Shah regarded Khomeini’s activities as a threat to his power and agenda and exiled him in 1963. Shortly before the downfall of the monarchy, Feyerdoon Hoveyda, Iranian journalist and author, described his meeting with the Shah where the monarch believed that Khomeini's influence and the demonstrations against him were orchestrated by economic interest groups. He expressed his commitment to establishing a full democracy and told Hoveyda that he would ask a team of international watchers to control future national elections. He compared the transition that he intended to Franco’s handover of power to the Spanish King Juan Carlos. ¹⁷

The Shah’s policy toward the West was characterized by a moderate political attitude and economic openness. At a human rights conference in Tehran in 1968, he directly related the idea of human rights, intercultural and inter-religious tolerance as an innate part of the attitude of the ancient Persian Empire. There is no involvement in other parts of intercultural dialogue known.