During the Second World War, Britain was the key member of an alliance fighting for democracy and a free world from the occupying forces of Germany in Europe and of Japan in the Far East. At the same time, somewhat ironically, Britain had the uncomfortable position of being an occupying force in Iran. A few months after the invasion of Iran, the concept of the United Nations was sketched out by President Franklin D Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in December 1941. While notions of inter-governmental cooperation and the protection of liberty were the cornerstones of this international organisation, Britain actively and deliberately intervened in a neutral country and bypassed Iran’s national sovereignty in order to prioritise its needs. By keeping to the timeframe of Britain’s occupation of Iran, my paper examines not only this uncomfortable dichotomy, but also the implications of British governmental attitude towards Iran’s eventual membership to the United Nations Charter in 1945.
In order to understand British attitude towards Iran in the United Nations, this paper will focus on five key questions. Firstly, how did the British government attempt to reconcile its military occupation of Iran with the war against Fascism? Secondly, how did the British government envision an independent Iran in the post-war era? Thirdly, to what extent did this translate into membership to the United Nations? Fourthly, what were the opinions of the British government towards Iran’s membership? Fifthly, how was propaganda used to promote the idea of the United Nations in Iran?
This research will primarily rely upon cabinet papers as well government correspondence, alongside British newspapers from the time. While British membership in the United Nations has been the subject of a whole body of literature, its attitude towards individual countries’ membership are limited to India and Israel. This paper will therefore greatly add to our understanding of Iran’s early membership by placing it in a more global context.
