The Iranian Civil War is a proxy conflict that takes place in 1971, and involves all three major superpowers; additionally, if formed, the COMINTERN can provide support in a fourth column.
During the Oil Crisis, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi will be assassinated, which will result in a civil war between the ruling Imperial State and the Revolutionary Iranian Liberation Front, an alliance of the communists, constitutional monarchists, democratic liberals, islamists, and regional separatists.
History[]
APOC and Western Dominance[]
Oil has long proved much more of a curse to Iran than a blessing. From its very beginning, black gold made Persia the target of foreign dominance. Following the discovery of large deposits in 1909, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company was founded and in time would come to hold a monopoly over Persian oil.
Iran's control over what was supposed to be its oil created much discontent among the citizens and the government of Iran. The Shah, however, was typically powerless to stop Western dominance; the threat of the potential of Iran cutting oil supplies led to a joint Anglo-Soviet invasion in 1941 and the deposition of Reza Shah, leading to his son Mohammad Reza Shah taking the throne.
Forced Alignment with the Reich[]
With the allied loss in World War II, the German Reich would come to Iran as liberators. Quickly, however, the "Land of Aryans" would discover that Nazi race science considered them to be "half-Aryans" corrupted by "Jewry", and what was a liberation turned to a change in masters. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was dissolved, and its monopoly was instead handed over to Kontinental Öl AG, a German oil company. Germany began using Iran to further its operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, supporting the Turkestan Legion in particular through the new Imperial State of Iran.
1953 Coup d'Etat[]
In 1953, the German Abwehr conducted a coup against the democratically-elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, on the preemptive that Mossadegh planned to nationalize Iran's oil, additionally citing the threat of the Tudeh, a socialist Iranian party that was alleged to have connections with the United States of America. The Abwehr's coup was ultimately successful and the prime minister was replaced with a much more strongly pro-German administration. The Nationalist Front and the Tudeh was suppressed brutally by the newly-formed SAVAK, a secret police that saw to the torture and killings of dissidents against the Shah's government. Mohammad Reza Shah, although complicit with the coup, cannot be entirely blamed; initially, he opposed the effort when he was informed with it, but after being told that he too would be "disposed of" if he did not cooperate, abided by the plan.
Ultimately, Mohammad Mosaddegh was arrested by Iranian authorities and was then forcibly "disappeared" by the Abwehr. After this point, the Reich had complete command over the Iranian government's foreign policy and economy, which turned Iran into a petrostate; albeit a less cooperative and productive one than the Reich itself given its control over the Baku oil fields.
Collapse of the Shahdom[]
During the height of instability in the Middle East in the Oil Wars, the rebellion of Islamic fundamentalist and pan-Arabic forces caused grave instability, not only in the global economy, but also within Iran, as violence spilled over. In 1971, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was assassinated, leading to a succession crisis; ultimately, Abwehr agents would guide politics in their favor and his wife, Farah Pahlavi, would be crowned Shahbanu. However, with the Shah already massively unpopular and political repression having only created more radical paramilitary resistance trained by foreign intelligence agencies, a coalition of resistance movements in the Revolutionary Iranian Liberation Front would rise up against the government, beginning the Iranian civil war.
Factions[]
There are several belligerents in the conflict; however, only three sides receive reliable foreign backing and as such can be considered likely candidates for unification, these being:
- The Imperial State of Iran under Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi, supported by the German Reich,
- The Democratic Republic of Iran, led by Karim Sanjabi and supported by the United States
- The Islamic Republic of Iran, led by Ruhollah Khomeini and supported by the Empire of Japan,
In addition, three other states participate in the war:
- The Socialist Federation of Iran, led by Iraj Eskandari; if the COMINTERN is formed, the SFI has a chance of winning, much like the Commune of France.
- The Shahdom of Iran, led by Shapour Bakhtiar, not to be confused with the Imperial State; the two differ in that the Shahdom of Iran supports a constitutional monarchy,
- The Baluchi Liberation Front, led by Sher Mohammad Marri.
All of the states can be backed by Magadan under Mitchell WerBell III, much like with the concurrent Oil Wars.
Outcomes[]
If the Imperial State of Iran wins the civil war and the Pahlavi dynasty remains in power, Iran will stay in the Einheitspakt and continue to export its oil to Germany; decisive in the country's recovery from the Oil Crisis.
After the collapse of the Revolutionary Iranian Liberation Front, if the Democratic Republic wins, Iran will abandon Germany, nationalize its oil, and join the Organization of Free Nations. If the Islamic Republic of Iran wins, they will join the Co-Prosperity Sphere and Iran will become much the same as it does in our timeline, except with the consequences of Japanese corporate domination looming overhead.