ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran

Okay, kiddo, so a long time ago in 1941, two big countries called England and the Soviet Union got together and said, "Hey, let's go visit Iran!" Now, Iran is a country that's really big and important because it has a lot of oil that other countries want. England and the Soviet Union wanted to make sure that the oil was safe and didn't fall into the wrong hands. So they decided to go into Iran.

Now, when they got there, the leader of Iran, called the Shah, didn't really like the idea of England and the Soviet Union being in his country. He didn't want to give up his power and control over the oil. So he said, "Hey guys, please leave my country!" But England and the Soviet Union didn't listen to him. They wanted to make sure that the oil stayed safe and protected.

So, they decided to invade Iran together. That means they brought a lot of soldiers and weapons to fight against the Iranian army. They went to different parts of Iran and took over important places like the oil fields and the cities. They wanted to make sure that nobody could take the oil away from them.

The Shah was pretty upset about this, but he couldn't do anything about it. England and the Soviet Union were very strong and had a lot of soldiers and weapons. Eventually, they defeated the Iranian army and took control of the country.

After a while, they let the Shah stay in power, but they made sure that he did what they wanted. They controlled the oil and made sure that nobody could take it away from them. The invasion of Iran was a big deal because it showed how powerful England and the Soviet Union were at the time. It also changed the way that other countries looked at Iran and how they interacted with its leaders.