From Alliance to Adversaries: The Influence of the 1946 Iranian Crisis on Early US Cold War Strategies
Abstract
For three brief months in 1946, the Soviet Union (USSR) ignored its post-war treaty obligations and occupied a portion of Northern Iran. Known as the "Iranian Crisis," the conflict involved 30,000 Red Army soldiers, 2,000 Iranian casualties, and three United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions. During the same period, only months after the end of the Second World War, Allied troops were still deployed around the world, Berlin was being partitioned between the East and West, and Winston Churchill infamously stated that an "iron curtain had descended across the continent" of Europe. The 1946 Iranian Crisis now appears to be a historical footnote between the devastation of the Second World War and the 45-year Cold War, but the confrontation serves as a key juncture in Soviet-American relations from allies of convenience to total adversaries. For the US, the Iranian Crisis solidified the strategy of containment by confirming US fears of Soviet expansionism, established the UN as a US diplomatic instrument, confirmed the viability of threatening military intervention, and forced US policy to prioritize anti-communism over anti-colonialism.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 28, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1177838
Entities
People
- Justin W. Roberts
Organizations
- Marine Corps University