ABSTRACT
Initial Stage - the Soviets Propose Co-operation (January-April 1979) The fall of the Shah in Iran marked a turning-point not only in Iran but in the whole area. Iran's old regime had played the role of 'the region's policeman', trying to keep stability and order there, preserving existing regimes, ensuring the regular flow of Gulf oil, and containing advances of the Soviets and their friends. With the collapse of that regime, a vacuum developed - with no other regional power able to take over the role. Moreover, Iran's new Islamic leadership called for revolutions and changes in the whole Islamic world, and particularly in Shi'a-populated regions bordering their country. The Soviets took no part in these developments, considering the risk too great. A revival of Islam could spread to Muslim-populated areas in the USSR, near Iran. They adapted themselves as best they could to the situation, using it wherever they could to their own advantage.
