Reza Shah, then the monarch of Iran, was swiftly deposed and replaced by his son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. This regime change, orchestrated under Allied pressure, was intended to ensure a more compliant Iranian government. Yet while British troops eventually withdrew after the war, the Soviets lingered, particularly in the oil-rich and strategically vital provinces of Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. There, they supported separatist movements and established de facto autonomous governments—actions that stoked Iranian fears of permanent dismemberment.
It was only after significant diplomatic pressure, including appeals to the newly formed United Nations and support from the United States, that the Soviet Union finally withdrew its troops in 1946. The crisis marked one of the early confrontations of the Cold War and underscored Iran’s vulnerable position at the crossroads of empires.