The
Iran crisis of 1946, also known as the
Iran-Azerbaijan Crisis, followed the end of
World War II and stemmed from the
Soviet Union's refusal to relinquish occupied
Iranian territory, despite repeated assurances. In 1941 Iran had been jointly
invaded and occupied by the Allied powers of the Soviet
Red Army in the north and by the British in the centre and south. Iran was used by the Americans and the British as a transportation route to provide vital supplies to the Soviet Union's war efforts.