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Allied Occupation Created Unexpected Political Opening
- Allied occupation in 1941 ousted Reza Shah and unexpectedly opened a brief window of political pluralism in Iran.
- That openness enabled mass parties like Tudeh to form and mobilize workers and intellectuals nationwide.
Tudeh Bridged Intellectuals And Oil Workers
- Tudeh combined intellectual modernism with powerful labor organizing to become Iran's only true mass party in the 1940s.
- Its Central Council of United Trade Unions mobilized thousands of oil workers, leading massive strikes by 1946.
Soviet Moves Eroded Tudeh's Nationalist Credibility
- Soviet support for Azerbaijan and calls for a Caspian oil concession put Tudeh in a nationalist bind.
- Tudeh's perceived alignment with Moscow over territorial integrity and oil undermined its popular legitimacy.