Hooshang Tale

Iran in the Claws of the Bear: the Failed Soviet Landgrab of 1946 Hooshang Tale

The British?Soviet occupation of Iran in 1941 provided Joseph Stalin with a golden opportunity to fulfill an age-old dream nurtured by Russian rulers since Peter the Great, a dream of getting closer to the warm waters of the Persian Gulf. Where others had failed, Stalin was determined to succeed. Occupied by the USSR and Great Britain during World War II, Iran was the most secure route for transferring military goods, supplies, foodstuff, and other war materials to the Soviet Union. However, the USSR tried to take advantage of the situation and create its own puppet government in the Iranian province of Azerbaijan, leading to the Azerbaijan Crisis of 1946. Iran in the Claws of the Bear: The Failed Soviet Land Grab of 1946 focuses on the struggle among three great powers-the United States of America, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union-and the much weaker Iran. Authors Hooshang Talé and Farhad Talé emphasize Iran's role in forcing the Soviets to end the occupation of Iranian land and return to the USSR.