The Lion and The Sun: A Modern History of Iran

As World War II ends, Iran becomes the first battleground of the Cold War. After Stalin reaches for northern oil, a calculated gamble in Tehran determines whether the country will split or survive.

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Episode Summary

As World War II ended, the world shifted. Britain weakened. The United States and the Soviet Union rose. And oil, now the lifeblood of modern power, moved to the center of global politics.

In Iran, the Soviets wanted their share.

With troops still stationed in the north, Moscow backed a new movement in Azerbaijan. Led by Jafar Pishevari, the Azerbaijan Democratic Party declared regional autonomy and began governing the province with Soviet support. In Tehran, the Tudeh Party echoed its demands, and pressure mounted inside parliament to negotiate.

Iran resisted. The Majlis refused to grant oil concessions. The government appealed to the newly formed United Nations. The crisis deepened as Soviet forces refused to withdraw.

Then, Ahmad Qavam returned to power at a critical moment.

A veteran of earlier political battles, he chose negotiation over confrontation. He travelled to Moscow, promised to submit a joint oil company to parliament, and bought time, waiting for the deadline set by the Tripartite Treaty.

As relations between Washington and Moscow hardened, Iran became one of the first tests of the emerging Cold War. Under growing international pressure, Stalin agreed to withdraw Soviet troops in March 1946.

Once they were gone, parliament overwhelmingly rejected the oil deal. Iranian forces marched into Azerbaijan, dismantled the autonomous government, arrested the Azerbaijan Democratic Party members, and restored central control.

Pishevari fled north. The movement collapsed.

Qavam had outmaneuvered Stalin. But it was the young Mohammad Reza Shah who stood at the center of the victory, presenting himself as the guardian of Iran’s unity.

The Soviet threat had receded. The struggle over Iran’s oil had not.

Music

Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen – Monarch of Fate

Jay Varton – First Second

Kai Engel – Somnolence

Dian Shuai – The Only Way Out

Edvard Grieg – Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: No. 3 “Anitra’s Dance” – Odyssey Orchestra

Bonnie Grace – Scorpions

Stefan Ekstorm – Turning Stones

Bonnie Grace – Fractal Patterns

Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen – Formula

The post Book Three – Ep.2: ADP appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

After Reza Shah’s abdication, the young Mohammad Reza Pahlavi takes the throne. As Iran struggles with the aftermath of the Anglo-Soviet invasion, Allied leaders gather in Tehran to plan the next phase of the war.

Book Two Recap
Book One Recap

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Episode Summary

In 1941, following the Allied invasion of Iran, Reza Shah was forced to abdicate and leave the country. His departure secured British and Soviet access to Iran as a wartime supply route while preserving the monarchy. Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Foroughi moved quickly to protect the succession, discreetly bringing the 21-year-old crown prince to parliament and overseeing his oath. Mohammad Reza was declared shah within hours of his father’s exile.

The new monarch inherited a country in crisis. Foreign troops occupied key regions, trade routes were disrupted, and famine and unrest spread across the population. Regional tensions threatened unity, and few trusted the inexperienced king to hold the state together. Lacking authority, he relied heavily on senior politicians to manage the transition.

Foroughi led those efforts. He aligned Iran with the Allies, persuaded parliament to abandon neutrality, and negotiated the Tripartite Treaty, which recognized Iran’s territorial integrity while granting the occupying powers access to the country’s roads, railways, and resources. After stabilizing the situation, he resigned due to failing health and died soon after, leaving the young shah without his most experienced advisor.

In 1943, Tehran hosted a summit between Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill. Although the conference affirmed Iran’s independence, the country played little role in the negotiations and remained subject to foreign influence. At the same time, the fall of Reza Shah’s authoritarian rule reopened political life. Newspapers returned, parties formed, and labour movements organized. To maintain legitimacy, Mohammad Reza adopted a more constitutional approach and shared power with parliament.

By the mid-1940s, Iran faced an uncertain future. A young king, renewed political activity, and competing foreign powers shaped a fragile balance between sovereignty and dependence. Yet the continued presence of external powers and the country’s history of disrupted progress left the future uncertain.

Music

Will Van De Crommert – A Ray of Elegance

Schubert – Trio No. 2, Op. 100, Andante con moto

Kai Engel – Collateral

Daniel Catalá – Elevare

Spearfisher – Infinity Cycle

The post Book Three – Ep.1: Tehran Conference appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

In 1944, Reza Shah died alone.

Banished from his homeland and despised by his people.

But even his most bitter critics couldn’t deny one thing:

He was the architect of a new Iran.
The creator of a modern empire.

Season three of The Lion and the Sun Podcast will start airing next week. While you can enjoy this season on its own, having some background never hurts.

If you have the time and want the full picture, start with book one and follow the story through to book three; but if you’re short on time, the season two recap will get you up to speed. (and the season one recap doesn’t hurt either!)

The Lion and the Sun is a podcast about the modern history of Iran. It’s a story of how Iran ended up where it is now and how religion, monarchy, democracy, and nationalism shaped the lives of its people across the 20th century.

Book One: Qajar
How the constitutional revolution created Iran’s very first parliament (Majlis). This season follows the story of the fading Qajar monarchy, as unrest, foreign meddling, and political betrayal set the stage for Reza Khan’s rise to power.

Book Two: Reza Shah
The rise and fall of Reza Shah, the architect of modern Iran. Season Two chronicles the meteoric rise of Reza Khan from a simple soldier to the founding Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, his radical transformation of Iran into a modern state, and his ultimate downfall.

Follow us on Instagram, TikTok or X (Twitter).
For early access to episodes, become a supporter on Patreon.

The post Book Two Recap appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

Kermit Roosevelt was on a mission that night.

To overthrow Iran’s prime minister and take back control of its oil.

Listen to new chapters from January 28th 2026.

In book three of The Lion and the Sun, we look at how Iran’s bid to nationalize its oil pulled the CIA into Iranian politics and set the stage for a covert operation that removed its democratically elected leader.

A coup that became a model for American interventions for decades and reshaped Iran’s relationship with the United States forever.

This season, we’re talking about Iran’s oil, the life of Mohammad Mosaddegh and his ultimate clash with the US and Britain

Catch up with Iran’s story from the beginning:

Book One: Qajar
Iran’s constitutional revolution and the birth of its first parliament. This season traces the final years of the Qajar monarchy, as unrest, foreign interference, and political betrayal pave the way for Reza Khan’s rise.

Book Two: Reza Shah
The making of modern Iran … and the cost of building it. Follow Reza Khan’s ascent from soldier to shah, his sweeping reforms, and the downfall that ended his rule

You can listen to us on all podcast platforms and read the transcripts on our site.

The post Book Three Trailer appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

Our podcast is a Finalist in the 2025 Signal Awards in the History category!

Vote for the listener’s choice award here.

This is a special episode of The Lion and the Sun to celebrate our nomination:

As Iran crowns a new king, Reza Shah is forced into exile.
Stripped of power and family, the fallen monarch begins his final chapter in isolation.

Thank you so much for your support and for listening to our show.

We’ll be back in November 2025 with season 3!

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For early access to episodes, become a supporter on Patreon.

Episode Summary

Reza Shah’s abdication represented his entire reign in a nutshell:
Straightforward, without any fluff and to the point

On September 16, 1941, with Allied forces closing in and no path left, he signed the letter of resignation drafted by his prime minister, ending his sixteen-year reign. What followed was humiliation. The ex-king’s family was split: his wife and heir stayed behind while others were forced to join him. His vast properties, amassed through intimidation and seizures, were stripped away. His belongings were searched as if he were a common thief, and he was escorted out of Iran, never to return.

Believing he might find peace in South America, he instead became a pawn of British plans, first confined to Mauritius in suffocating isolation, then moved to South Africa. There he found brief fascination with Johannesburg’s modern life but soon withdrew into solitude. Friends and family drifted away, his health collapsed, and he became a shadow of the man who once commanded armies. By July 1944, he died alone in Johannesburg, little more than a mystery to his neighbors.

Even in death, his journey continued. His body was carried to Cairo for temporary burial, then six years later returned to Iran to rest in a mausoleum built in his honor at Shahr-e Ray. For decades it stood as a monument to the dynasty he founded, visited by dignitaries and hailed as the tomb of a nation-builder. But the revolution of 1979 erased it in rubble, branding him an enemy of faith and people.

Music:

Roie Shpigler – Random Symmetries

Veaceslav Draganov – Neanderthal

Scott Buckley – Adrift Among Infinite Stars

Yehezkel Raz – Ballerina

Franz Schubert – Ständchen, D 889

Frédéric Chopin – Marche funèbre (Funeral March), from Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35

The post Book Two – Special Episode: Exiled King appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.