Between 1945 and the end of the 1970s, foreign policy in the Middle East was focused on combating the spread of communism and securing its economic interest in regards to oil. The US interference contributed significantly to regional turbulence by meddling in national politics, helping throw coups, and arming conflicts. This resulted in strong anti- American sentiments by the 1980s. The region became an important theater of the Cold War, with the US and USSR each interfering in local governments and using them as proxies. The United States also established key allies in the region and secured their interests in oil. Through presidential doctrines and ambitious Secretaries of Defense, the United States established a strong presence in the region. …show more content…
The Azerbaijan Crisis took place in Iran at the end of World War II and was one of the first conflicts of the Cold War. While the United States, Britain, and the USSR all had a military presence in Iran to transport weapons during World War II, and only the USSR remained by the end of the war. The USSR did not want to leave Iranian Azerbaijan where pro-Soviet movements had developed during World War II, and Stalin established the Azerbaijan’s People Republic and the Kurdish Republic of Mahabad. The United States put pressure on the USSR and it withdrew from Iran, ending the crisis. The United States again interfered with Iranian politics in 1953 with the overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq to put the Shah back in power. Though Truman was initially supportive of nationalist aspirations in Iran, Eisenhower did not support Mossadeq because of his strong ties to the Tudeh, the Iranian Communist Party. Eisenhower viewed Mossadeq’s gain of power as a possible catalyst for a Communist takeover in Iran, and in combined efforts with Britain staged a military coup labeled by the US as Operation Ajax. A major motive for the Unites States behind the coup was Mossadeq’s plans to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, which the US thought would have threatened its economical interests in the region by inspiring similar actions in other countries where the US had a stake in oil production. There was also heightened tension between the US and the USSR involving Egypt, with Nasser promoting positive neutralism while at the same time aligning himself with the Soviet Union. The USSR provided massive amounts of arms to Egypt between the Six Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and interfered in the Yom Kippur war on behalf of Egypt in demanding a ceasefire and threatening the United States