8 - Distributing the Oil Wealth

Summary

Iranian oil revenues saw extraordinary growth in the 1970s, increasing from $1.2 billion in 1970–71 to $5 billion in 1973–74, and reaching $20 billion in 1975–76. These increased revenues gave the shah status as a major player in the Global South. It allowed him to invest in industrial projects in Africa and purchase not only raw materials to satisfy Iran’s construction boom, but also strategic resources such as uranium and phosphates. Surprisingly little has been written in the historiography of late Pahlavi Iran about how and to what effect Iran used its oil wealth to buy influence in the Global South in the 1970s. This chapter addresses this shortcoming, by examining Iranian aid and development in Africa during this period. Using a wide range of archival material and building on the important scholarship of academics such as Shireen T. Hunter, it looks at exactly how much money was distributed, the types of projects Iran supported, what Iran sought to gain from this investment/philanthropy, and how successful it actually was.