Tehran Conference

Well, thank you, Dan.

I, I, we're always looking at to you and Andre for, uh, uh, the ways ahead and what to see, uh, Andre, your comment about, uh, for 1943 in Toronto is really spot on.

And, uh, So I very much appreciate you taking the time today to peer in the eyes on Eurasia podcast with Glen Howard.

It's always a delight to talk to you and have your insights.

It's not just the Allies who are focusing energy on this roughly 350-mile stretch of French coastline.

In November 1943, around the same time as the Big Three's Tehran Conference, Adolf Hitler turns his attention west.

He orders the reinforcement of the Atlantic coast and sends one of his most famous field marshals, Erwin Rommel.

Yes, Germany's famed Desert Fox, whom we saw in action in North Africa back in episode 200.

Throughout the Second World War, Iran was a conduit for British and American aid to the Soviet Union.

In 1943, at the Tehran Conference, the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union issued the Tehran Declaration to guarantee Iranian independence following the war.

After the war, Iran continued as it always had, but as the 1950s dawned, things were about to change.

In 1949, there was an assassination attempt on the Shah, which led him to become more involved in Iranian politics.

I mean, t- tell us a little more about that.

Well, it was very much at the, uh, Tehran Conference, uh, in November, uh, 1943, so, uh, uh, whatever it is, you know, eight, nine, 10 months after, after the end of Stalingrad, that Stalin with- Roosevelt and with Churchill meeting in Tehran is the leader.

He is the boss in a way because it is the sacrifice of the Red Army, uh, the victory at Stalingrad, uh, which basically puts him in the controlling position, uh, definitely in the driving seat at Tehran.

Uh, Churchill is very, very aware of this.