Introduction

During the period of the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, the Soviets reportedly indicated their interest in territories to their south, including Iran and Turkey. But it was the Nazi attack on the USSR in June 1941 that provided Moscow with an opportunity to place its troops in Iran. Under Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet links to the Third World proliferated. In the Gulf region, the USSR established ties to the military rulers of Iraq, the Imam of Yemen, and sought to constrain—if possible—the Shah of Iran’s relations with the United States. The strategic value of the Gulf and the Soviet desire to lessen Western influence there cannot be considered without mention of oil. The rich oil reserves of Iran, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula certainly enhanced the region’s strategic and political value. Indeed, instability in the Gulf, Soviet proximity to the area, and speculation about Soviet oil reserves have evoked alarm in the West about possible Kremlin control of Middle East oil.