6. The US Continued to Support the Shah, Even Though the Monarchy Was in Trouble
Meanwhile, the United States, under diplomatic leaders such as Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and President Richard Nixon, continued to support the Shah’s regime. Its border with the Soviet Union made it a critical strategic point for the US to increase its hegemony and power against communism. One of America’s strategies during the Cold War was to prevent the further spread of communism, and it was keen to keep communism out of Central Asia as much as possible. Additionally, the country’s abundant oil reserves proved too tempting for the American economy, which was becoming totally dependent on oil. Iran became a bastion for America’s policies in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The degree of confluence between the American and Iranian cultures can be seen in the interactions of the people who lived in both countries. Between 1950 and 1979, the year of the Iranian Revolution, as many as 850,000 Americans visited Iran. In the decade leading up to the revolution, 25,000 American technicians went to Iran to work on and support military machinery there. Many Iranian students and other citizens visited America and generally had a warm, welcoming view of the country. However, underneath the veneer of smooth, implacable relations, trouble was brewing with the monarchy.