Rezā Shāh - World War II and Forced Abdication

World War II and Forced Abdication

In August 1941, the Allied powers Britain and the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Iran by a massive air, land, and naval assault, (see Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran) subsequently forcing Reza Shah to abdicate in favour of his son (see also Persian Corridor).

The Shah received with disbelief, as a personal humiliation and defeat, the news that fifteen Iranian divisions had surrendered without much resistance. Some of his troops dispersed and went home, while others were locked up in their barracks by the Allies.

The British left the Shah a face-saving way out:

The Anglo-Soviet invasion was instigated in response to Reza Shah's declaration of Neutrality in World War II and refusal to allow Iranian territory to be used to train, supply, and act as a transport corridor to ship arms to Russia for its war effort against Germany. Reza Shah further refused the Allies' requests to expel German nationals residing in Iran, and denied the use of the railway to the Allies. However according to the British embassy reports from Tehran in 1940, the total number of German citizens in Iran – from technicians to spies – was no more than a thousand.

Because of its importance in the allied victory, Iran was subsequently called "The Bridge of Victory" by Winston Churchill.

Reza Shah was forced, by the invading British, to abdicate in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who replaced his father as Shah on the throne on September 16, 1941.