13. Britain and the United States Wanted Iran’s Oil
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company, which was created through a series of concessions made by the Qajar shahs to the British at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of twentieth centuries, was one of the biggest drivers of Western influence in Iran during the twentieth century. APOC enabled Iranian oil to fuel the British Royal Navy, an interest that the British were keen to protect during World Wars I and II. Oil agreements between the British and Iran’s shahs led to exploitation of the land and people — a form of colonialism — which the Iranian people deplored. They wanted Iran’s resources to be used to help the people there, not Western powers.
APOC was added to the list of grievances that the Iranian people had against the monarchy. They were starving and falling into increased poverty, while the Shah and his Western allies were becoming increasingly wealthy. However, the need for oil by Western countries was not going anywhere; in the industrial and economic booms following World War II, the United States and Britain were becoming more and more dependent on Iran’s oil reserves. To protect their interests there, they needed to keep up friendly relations with the Shah, even if the shah’s people were increasingly turning against him.