Status Updates From Iran Between Two Revolutions

A member of the British cabinet noted in London that "I cannot get it out of my head that the Tudeh Party, although admittedly a revolutionary party, may be the party of the future which is going to look after the interests of the working man in Persia."

Historians later argued that the dynasty survived because of the Iranian "mystique" for kingship. If any such sentiment existed in 1941-1943, the shah was unaware of it. On the contrary, he was much more aware of the immediate need to retain active control over the military.

By the end of the [19th] century, Western visitors considered xenophobia and religious fanaticism to be ingrained aspects of popular culture in Iran. In fact, they were mostly recent and ironic byproducts of the Western impact on Iran.