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6 - Investing in Iran

Frontiers and Foreign Competition, 1925–1939

from Part II - Desultory Modernities (1914–1941)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2023

Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet
Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
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Summary

America expanded trade and cultural relations as it faced foreign competition from the entrenched powers in Iran, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company maintained its strong economic control over Iran. Despite these limitations, the Pahlavi state centralized and engaged in nation-building. However, it imposed political restrictions and censorship that privately concerned American diplomats. Iran embarked on an immense project to build a national railway system, which it inaugurated just before another global war. The repression of political dissent, particularly religious or socialist viewpoints, raised concerns about Reza Shah’s style of leadership. Some Iranian intellectuals gravitated toward intolerant ideologies that clashed with the country’s legacy of religious and ethnic accommodation.

Keywords

PersianizationNationalismAnglo-Iranian Oil CompanyAryanismCultural politicsForeign tradeGerman–Iranian tiesTrans-Iranian Railway
Type
Chapter
Information
Heroes to Hostages
America and Iran, 1800–1988
 , pp. 122 - 142
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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