Book Talk with Shaul Bakhash: The Fall of Reza Shah

Recorded: April 4, 2022
Event: Bilingual Lecture Series

by Shaul Bakhash (George Mason University)

When World War II broke out, Reza Shah, hoping to shield his country from the ravages of the war, declared Iran’s neutrality. But in August, 1941, British and Soviet forces invaded Iran, occupied it, and brought an end to Reza Shah’s reign. In discussing the highlight’s of his most recent book, The Fall of Reza Shah, Shaul Bakhash will cover the British role in forcing Reza Shah’s abdication and their flirtation with the idea of doing away with the Pahlavi dynasty altogether. It will describe Reza Shah’s journey into exile, his life in exile in British hands in Mauritius and then in Johannesburg, and, briefly, his finances in exile and the settlement of his estate.