August 1941 : the Anglo-Russian occupation of Iran and change of Shahs / Mohammad Gholi Majd.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction and overview -- The facade of "Modern Iran" on the eve of World War II -- "A review of the Joint British-Soviet actions against Iran" -- Iran's relations with the Great Powers at the onset of World War II -- Impact of German victories on the Western Front -- British occupation of Iraq & German invasion of Russia : onset of Anglo-Soviet pressure -- The Anglo-Russian ultimatum -- British diplomacy on the invasion of Iran -- Soviet diplomacy on the invasion of Iran -- Iranian appeals to Washington -- The invasion of Iran : "The Eighty-Hour War" -- Developments in Tehran & Reza Shah's crumbling rule -- Change of Shahs & military occupation of Tehran -- Political developments in Tehran -- A "New Deal."

"Coming shortly after the British occupation of Iraq and the German invasion of Russia, the Anglo-Russian occupation of Iran secured a vital route for supplies to Russia and assured British control of the oilfields. To save the Pahlavi regime, Reza Shah was replaced by his son and Iranians were given a "New Deal." The Allied occupation thus ushered in a brief period of democratic freedoms. Having described the rise of Reza Shah in a previous work, Majd completes the story by describing his downfall. The author has made an extensive search of the widely scattered U.S. diplomatic and military records and these are supplemented by reports in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Daily Tribune, as well as other press accounts. More than seventy years later, this interesting story has remained untold. August 1941 is the first detailed and documented account of the affair."--Page 4 of cover.