Oil Nationalization · Melli Shodan-e San'at-e Naft

Culture of origin: Iranian · Historical

Holiday sources: Iran · Qashqai

Iran's oil had been run under foreign concessions since the D'Arcy concession of 1901, and by 1948 Britain earned far more from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company than Iran did. Led by Mosaddegh and the National Front, parliament passed the nationalization law in March 1951, creating the National Iranian Oil Company. Britain answered with a naval blockade of Abadan and a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil, and two years later helped overthrow Mosaddegh.