The Tehran Conference: a lingering wound on Iranian sovereignty
Faramarz Kouhpayeh
Tehran Times
Iran boasts one of the world's oldest civilizations, its history stretching back millennia. In the modern era, however, the country has often been kept on the back foot, with the 20th century in particular marked by numerous instances of subjugation and national humiliation.
While Iran today asserts its independent sovereignty and projects military and security capabilities beyond its borders, this has not always been the case. From the collapse of the Afsharid dynasty in 1796 until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran frequently faced periods of external vulnerability and diminished autonomy in the face of Western aggression.
One of the most glaring instances of Iran's autonomy, sovereignty, and integrity being violated occurred during World War II: the Tehran Conference, an event that continues to anger many Iranians to this day.
Allied leaders get together in Tehran—Four years into World War II in November 1943, when the German army and its ally Italy (Axis powers) had been defeated on all fronts, leaders of the Allies consisting of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill decided to hold a meeting in the Iranian capital of Tehran to coordinate their war strategies and discuss the post-war era.
In Iran, the young Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had replaced his father Reza Shah, who had been sent into exile back in 1941 following the Anglo-Soviet invasion and partial occupation of his country.