6th Peace and Conflict Resolution Conference 2025
Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran
Chair of the Panel on the Position of Public Diplomacy and New Technologies in Peace and Conflict Resolution
Presented Paper: "A Conceptual Review of Historical Examples of Iranian Neutrality during World Wars I and II"
(with Maedeh Joveini)
Abstract
Iran adopted a policy of neutrality in World Wars I and II in order to avoid direct involvement in hostilities and pay the associated costs. This policy, which was adopted based on Iran's strategic position in the international system and the need to maintain political independence, was repeatedly violated by world powers. During World War I, Iranian territory became an arena for military competition between the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and Russia, and in World War II, as the conflicts on the eastern fronts expanded, Iran's neutrality was violated and the country was occupied by Allied forces. Questions surrounding this policy, especially at a specific historical juncture, firstly concern the extent to which this neutrality was effective, and secondly, why Iran's sovereignty was violated on both occasions are highlighted in the minds of outside observers. Iran's geopolitical position, especially when geopolitics was a more fundamental basis of international politics, is one of the most notable cases in the study of such questions: During World War I, Iran saw one of the major players in its west, namely the Ottoman Empire, in the east and south, the still established and influential Britain, and in the north, an important player, namely the Soviet Union. In the second war, although the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, the two traditional allies and rivals, namely Britain and now the Soviet Union, once again found Iran as their main logistical, political, and symbolic bulwark. The occupation of Iran was, of course, a joint project between Russia and Britain on both occasions, but at the same time and in the underlying layers, it also showed competition between these two actors. Iran and its occupation were affected by other issues and situations besides the war itself, and at the top of this list, firstly, the October Revolution of 1917 and the voluntary withdrawal of Russian forces from northern Iran, and secondly, the change in the area occupied by Britain in the two wars, which was a function of the discovery of oil in the meantime. The present study attempts to address the main questions mentioned by reviewing the genealogical history of the subject, Iran's historical ability to absorb external threats, and the instability of the neutrality position.
Keywords: Neutrality, World War I, World War II, Occupation of Iran, Strategic Isolation
