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Britain's Meddling in Iran
Britain has long been involved in meddling in Persian affairs. Over the
course of the 19th century, the importance of Persia grew in direct proportion
to the ambitions of the British Empire. Britain regarded Persia, with
its key, central location, as the logical extension of its Indian possessions.
In the face of a wave of anti-imperialist sentiment, Britain used a policy
of "divide and rule," aimed at destroying the central government's
authority by encouraging and arming tribal chiefs and warlords to resist
any attempt by the shahs to assert authority over southern Persia.
The furor of the Persian people culminated in the Constitutional
Revolution of 1906-1907, a response to the impotency of the Iranian
autocracy in the face of the escalating imperial encroachments of Britain,
which overthrew the monarchy.
The constitutionalists' quest to transform Persia into a modern nationstate
was crushed by the signing of the Anglo-Russian Agreement of 1907.
The bilateral accord (Iranians had no say in it) split the nation into three
sections: two "spheres of influence" divided by a central "neutral zone,"
over which the Iranian parliament, or Majlis, nominally retained sovereignty.
The pact granted the agents of either empire exclusive control over
the disposition of the natural resources contained within their respective
"sphere."
The geo-strategic importance of Persia to the British Empire escalated
in 1908, with the discovery of vast petroleum deposits within the British
sphere of influence. An infusion of materiel from Britain allowed the
Iranian army, under Reza Mizra Khan's personal command, to successfully
invade and occupy the former Russian sphere of influence. Backed by the
British, Reza Khan dropped all pretense of constitutional rule and had
himself crowned shah of Iran on December 13, 1925, establishing the
Pahlavi dynasty. As everyone knows, the monarchy was ousted again, this
time by the mullahs, in recent history, so that Iran is now an Islamic
republic.
For Iranians, democracy is not a new idea but an ongoing struggle. For
a century, this Middle East Muslim country has sought democracy, only to
see its efforts twice stamped out by Western powers. The time has come
for Britain, and the West in general, to stop meddling in the affairs of Iran.