Specifying the Condition of Iran's Foreign Policy and the Role of Foreign Ministers during 1957-1960

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

The years 1957 to 1960 were one of the most critical periods of the contemporary history of Iran from the viewpoint of its foreign relations. This is largely due to the fact that this period coincided with the attempts of other countries to increase their dominance over Iran. During this period, Iran was struggling with countries like the Soviet Union, Iraq, Egypt and the United States in its foreign relationships. Iran’s relations with the Soviet Union, Iraq and Egypt were similar to each other, involving fluctuations, conflicts, strains and even complete breaks. During these years, a negative aspect of Iran’s foreign policy was the wide gap created in relations between Iran and Arab countries including Egypt. Mohammad Reza Shah’s foreign policy in the region, and his relations with Israel, had resulted in this wide gap and had caused some Arab countries to openly express their dissatisfaction. These relations were most strained during the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt. At the same time, Iran had very close relations with the U.S. which led to Iran’s increased dependency on the U.S.
The aim of the present research is to study the role of Iran’s foreign ministers in Iran’s relations with the other countries which aimed to dominate Iran or maintain ties with it during 1957-1960, and the condition of Iran’s foreign policy in this period. The findings of this research show that the foreign ministers did not have an effective role in Iran’s foreign policy because the main policymaker was Mohammad Reza Shah himself, and the main function of his foreign policies was to protect his government, not the national interest.

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