Early relations
American newspapers in the 1720s were uniformly pro-Iranian, especially during the revolt of Afghan emir Mahmud Hotak (r. 1722-1725) against the Safavid dynasty.[25]
Political relations between Iran (Persia) and the United States began when the Shah of Iran, Nassereddin Shah Qajar, officially dispatched Iran's first ambassador, Mirza Abolhasan, to
Washington, D.C. in 1856.[26] In 1883, Samuel G. W. Benjamin was appointed by the United States as
the first official diplomatic envoy to Iran; however, ambassadorial relations were not established until 1944.[26] The first Iranian Ambassador to the United States of America was Mirza Albohassan Khan Ilchi Kabir. Justin Perkins and Asahel Grant were the first missionaries dispatched to Iran in 1834 via the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
The US had little interest in Persian affairs, while the US as a trustworthy outsider did not suffer. The Persians again sought the US for help in straightening out its finances after World War I. This
mission was opposed by powerful vested interests and eventually was withdrawn with its task incomplete.[27]
Amir Kabir, Prime Minister under Nasereddin Shah, also initiated direct contacts with the American government in Washington. By the end of the 19th century, negotiations were underway for an
American company to establish a railway system from the Persian Gulf to Tehran.
Until World War II, relations between Iran and the United States remained cordial. As a result, many Iranians sympathetic to the Persian Constitutional Revolution came to view the US as a "third force" in their struggle to expel British and Russian dominance in Persian affairs. American industrial and business leaders were supportive of Iran's drive to modernize its economy and to expel British and Russian influence from the country.[28]
The US Consulate at Arg e Tabriz sits in the line of fire during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. While the city was being attacked and bombed by 4,000 Russian troops in December 1911, Howard Baskerville took to arms, helping the people of Iran.
Americans wearing jobbeh va kolah (traditional Persian clothes) at the opening of The Majles, January 29,
1924. Mr. McCaskey, Dr. Arthur Millspaugh, and Colonel MacCormack are seen in the photo.
Morgan Shuster and US officials at Atabak Palace, Tehran, 1911.
Their group was appointed by Iran's parliament to reform and modernize Iran's Department of Treasury and Finances.
McCormick Hall, American College of Tehran, circa 1930, chartered by the State University of New York in 1932.
Americans also founded Iran's first modern College of Medicine in the 1870s.
Joseph Plumb Cochran, American Presbyterian missionary. He is credited as the founder of Iran's first modern Medical School.
American Memorial School in Tabriz, established in 1881
During the Persian Constitutional Revolution in 1909, American Howard Baskerville died in Tabriz while fighting with a militia in a battle against royalist forces.[29] After the Iranian parliament
appointed United States financier Morgan Shuster as Treasurer General of Iran in 1911, an
American was killed in Tehran by gunmen thought to be affiliated with Russian or British interests. Shuster became even more active in supporting the Constitutional revolution of Iran financially.[30] When Iran's government ordered the Shah's brother Shu'a al-Saltaneh (??????? ????), who was aligned with the goals of Imperial Russia in Iran, to surrender his assets, Shuster moved to execute the seizure. Imperial Russia immediately landed troops in Bandar Anzali, demanding a recourse and
apology from the Persian government. Russia's General Liakhov subsequently shelled Iran's parliament in Tehran as part of actions to protect Russia's interests, and Morgan Shuster was
forced to resign under British and Russian pressure. Shuster's book, The Strangling of Persia, is a
first-person recounting of these events from his perspective and is critical of British and Russian influence in Persia.
The American Embassy first reported to the Iran desk at the Foreign Office in London about the popular view of Britain's involvement in the 1921 coup that brought Reza Shah to power.[31][32] A British Embassy report from 1932 admitted that the British government put Reza Shah "on the throne". At that time, Iran did not view the United States as an ally of Britain.
In 1936, Iran withdrew its ambassador in Washington for nearly one year after the publication of an article criticizing Reza Shah in the New York Daily Herald.[33]
Morgan Shuster was followed by Arthur Millspaugh, who was appointed Treasurer General by Reza Shah, and Arthur Pope, who was a driving force behind the Persian Empire revivalist policies of Reza Shah. Friendly relations between the United States and Iran lasted until the 1950s.