Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in the context of "Tehran Conference"

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Persian: محمدرضا پهلوی [mohæmˈmæd reˈzɒː pæhlæˈviː]) (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution led by Ruhollah Khomeini, which abolished the Iranian monarchy to establish the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 1967, he took the title Shahanshah (lit. 'King of Kings'), and also held several others, including Aryamehr (lit. 'Light of the Aryans') and Bozorg Arteshtaran (lit. 'Grand Army Commander'). He was the second and last ruling monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty.

During World War II, the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran forced the abdication of Reza Shah and succession of Mohammad Reza Shah. During his reign, the British-owned oil industry was nationalized by the prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had support from Iran's national parliament to do so; however, Mosaddegh was overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, which was carried out by the Iranian military under the aegis of the United Kingdom and the United States. Subsequently, the Iranian government centralized power under the Shah and brought foreign oil companies back into the country's industry through the Consortium Agreement of 1954.

The 44th Army (Russian: 44-я армия) of the Soviet Union's Red Army was an army-level command active during World War II. Initially part of the Transcaucasian Front, its main actions included the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran and the Kerch amphibious landings (both in 1941), before being transferred to the Southern Front on 6 February 1943. There it took part in the Rostov, Donbas and Melitopol offensives. The army was disbanded in November 1943 and its units were transferred to other armies.

5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), also abbreviated as 5 GR(FF) and previously 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. It was formed in 1858 as part of the British Indian Army.The regiment's battalions served in the First World War (Mesopotamia) and Second World War (Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, Mediterranean, Italian campaign, and in Burma).

The regiment was known as the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) when it was one of the Gurkha regiments that was transferred to the Indian Army following the independence of Indian and Pakistan in 1947 and given its current name in 1950.

Russian irredentism (Russian: русский ирредентизм) refers to territorial claims made by the Russian Federation to regions that were historically part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, which Russian nationalists regard as part of the "Russian world". It seeks to create a Greater Russia by politically incorporating ethnic Russians and Russian speakers living in territories bordering Russia. This ideology has been significantly defined by the regime of Vladimir Putin, who has governed the country since 1999. It is linked to Russian neo-imperialism.

Russian troops currently occupy parts of three neighbouring countries: southern and eastern Ukraine, Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, and the Transnistria region of Moldova. Since it began in 2014, the Russo-Ukrainian War has been described by much of the international community as being a culmination of Russia's irredentist policies towards Ukraine. Examples of these irredentist policies being implemented in this conflict include the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which saw the Russian annexation of southeastern Ukraine in 2022.

The Imperial State of Iran, officially known as the Imperial State of Persia until 1935 and commonly referred to as Pahlavi Iran, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. The Pahlavi dynasty was created in 1925 and lasted until 1979 when it was ousted as part of the Iranian Revolution, which ended the Iranian monarchy and established the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Pahlavis came to power in 1925 with the ascension to the throne of Reza Shah, a former brigadier-general of the Persian Cossack Brigade, and the overthrow of Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Iranian ruler under the Qajar dynasty. Iran's Majlis, convening as a constituent assembly on 12 December 1925, deposed the young Ahmad Shah Qajar and declared Reza Shah as the new shah of the Imperial State of Persia. In 1935, Reza Shah asked foreign delegates to use the endonym Iran instead of the exonym Persia when addressing the country in formal correspondence. Reza Shah declared Iran neutral during the Second World War. Nonetheless, Iran was occupied by British and Soviet forces following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. Subsequently Reza Shah was forced to abdicate.

Relations between Iran and the United States in modern day are turbulent and have a troubled history. They began in the mid-to-late 19th century, when Iran was known to the Western world as Qajar Persia. Persia was very wary of British and Russian colonial interests during the Great Game. By contrast, the United States was seen as a more trustworthy foreign power, and the Americans Arthur Millspaugh and Morgan Shuster were even appointed treasurers-general by the Shahs of the time. During World War II, Iran was invaded by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, both US allies, but relations continued to be positive after the war until the later years of the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh, who was overthrown by a coup organized by the Central Intelligence Agency and aided by MI6. This was followed by an era of close alliance between Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's authoritarian regime and the US government, Iran being one of the US's closest allies during the Cold War, which was in turn followed by a dramatic reversal and disagreement between the two countries after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

The two nations have had no formal diplomatic relations since 7 April 1980. Instead, Pakistan serves as Iran's protecting power in the United States, while Switzerland serves as the United States' protecting power in Iran. Contacts are carried out through the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the US Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. In August 2018, Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei banned direct talks with the United States. According to the US Department of Justice, Iran has since attempted to assassinate US officials and dissidents, including US president Donald Trump.