Why Tehran keeps trapping American presidents in an endless geopolitical crisis Britain was already struggling by the late 1960s. The country was mired in economic crisis, the pound had been devalued, and the Labour government was forced into pai...
...nful public spending cuts. At the same time, the glow of Britain’s former imperial influence in the Middle East was fading.After the Suez Crisis, the region had effectively passed into the hands of the new superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. The Six-Day War in 1967 further complicated London’s position. Relations deteriorated with both #Israel and the Arab states, leaving Britain with shrinking influence and few reliable partners.The British government attempted to preserv...
...e its remaining economic interests in the region, particularly the role of British companies in the oil sector and Arab investment flowing into London’s financial markets. In the end, it lost both.When the International Monetary Fund, with strong backing from Washington, pressed #London to cut foreign policy spending, Harold Wilson’s government decided to reduce its military presence east of Suez. Yet Britain could not entirely abandon the region. Its base in Cyprus remained essential, for...
...ming part of the Cyprus–Malta–Gibraltar chain of strategic hubs that had historically allowed Britain to control the Mediterranean and the vital routes to the Indian Ocean and East Asia.Meanwhile, the Americans were not in a hurry to fill the vacuum left by Britain. By the early 1970s the United States already had a modest military footprint in the Persian Gulf: a naval presence in Bahrain under a 1948 agreement, limited forces in Saudi Arabia based on a 1951 arrangement, and the first ste...
...lationship with the Muslim world. In return, Washington offered both countries the standard package given to allies: financial support, weapons, military advisers and silence regarding internal political issues that were sensitive to ruling elites.For a time, the system appeared stable. Then #Iran exploded.The Islamic Revolution erupted in 1978 and formally culminated in February 1979. Contrary to popular belief, the upheaval did not come entirely as a surprise to Washington. American offi...
...ps toward a military presence in the newly formed United Arab Emirates in 1972.Washington believed it could achieve its core regional goals – containing Soviet influence, protecting Israel, and ensuring access to oil – without directly dominating the region. Instead, it relied on two key partners: Saudi Arabia and Iran.This approach became known as the “twin pillar strategy.”Riyadh and Tehran, representing the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam respectively, were meant to anchor America’s re...