دانشگاه شهید بهشتی مجله تاریخ ایران 2008-7357 18 2 2025 09 23 The Impact of the Nixon Doctrine on the Increase of Armaments of the Iranian Army (1969-1971) تأثیر دکترین نیکسون بر افزایش توان تسلیحاتی ارتش ایران (1969-1971م) 107 131 105833 10.48308/irhj.2025.239251.1409 FA علی رحمانی آلاشتی دانشجو کارشناسی ارشد تاریخ ایران اسلامی. گروه تاریخ. دانشکده علوم انسانی و اجتماعی. دانشگاه مازندران. بابلسر. ایران. سید حسن شجاعی دیوکلائی استادیار گروه تاریخ، دانشکده علوم انسانی و اجتماعی، دانشگاه مازندران، بابلسر، ایران. رضا شجری قاسم خیلی استادیار گروه تاریخ. دانشکده علوم انسانی و اجتماعی. دانشگاه مازندران. بابلسر. ایران. Journal Article 2025 03 21 The end of World War II marked a new era in Iran’s contemporary history concerning its relations with the global capitalist hegemony. Following WWII, which established U.S. hegemony in the global capitalist system and international relations, Iran’s politics and economy were heavily influenced by the U.S., especially during the Cold War. Consequently, the Nixon Doctrine, stemming from U.S. domestic and international challenges over the Vietnam War, significantly impacted Iran. Assigning Iran the primary military role in the Persian Gulf under this doctrine affected Iranian societal structures, notably its military. This historical research, therefore, investigates: What was the impact of implementing the Nixon Twin-Pillar Doctrine in the Persian Gulf, with Iran as its first military pillar, on Iran’s armament capabilities from 1969 to 1971? Findings indicate that U.S.-Iran alignment and mutual willingness for Iran to assume the primary military role under the Nixon Doctrine in the Persian Gulf enhanced Iran’s armament capabilities from 1969 to 1971. This increase stemmed from Iran’s ability to purchase arms from nations with military industries, crucially enabled by President Nixon’s personal support. This allowed Iran, under the Shah, to acquire advanced weaponry from the U.S., Britain, Western European nations, and even the USSR, to fulfill its military role within the Nixon Doctrine. Introduction The 1970s C.E. ushered in profound geopolitical transformations in the Middle East, particularly within the strategic Persian Gulf region. Britain’s 1971 military withdrawal from East of Suez engendered a regional power vacuum, attracting heightened attention from major powers, notably the United States and the Soviet Union, amidst the Cold War. During this critical historical juncture, marked by escalating East-West ideological and geostrategic rivalries and the repercussions of the Vietnam War for the U.S., the Nixon Doctrine was introduced in 1969 C.E. by President Richard Nixon. This new U.S. foreign policy is fundamentally aimed at reducing direct American military commitments globally, relying instead on allied regional powers to maintain stability and counter communist influence. Iran, under the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was central to the implementation of the Nixon Doctrine in the Persian Gulf. The nation’s prominent geopolitical position and abundant oil resources rendered it an ideal candidate to act as a regional gendarme and a key pillar of U.S. policy. Consequently, military and security relations between Iran and the United States entered a new, intensified phase, distinctly characterized by the extensive sale of the most advanced American weaponry to Iran. The Shah was granted considerable latitude (carte blanche) to equip the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces with modern armaments, including F-14 Tomcat fighters, Chieftain tanks, and advanced naval vessels such as destroyers and hovercraft. The present historical research aims to examine the impact of the Nixon Doctrine on the enhancement of Iran’s armament capabilities, a direct consequence of this policy. The military ramifications of the Nixon Doctrine profoundly influenced the accelerated and unprecedented augmentation of the Iranian Army’s strength during the second Pahlavi era. This study seeks to elucidate how U.S. foreign policy at this particular juncture catalyzed the transformation of Iran into one of the preeminent military powers in the Persian Gulf and the broader Middle East, and to investigate the military consequences this transformation entailed for Iran during this period. Materials And Methods The historical, political, and international nature of the present research necessitates the adoption of a historical approach, utilizing a descriptive-analytical methodology. Within this framework, the researcher initially provides a scientific description of the contexts, events, and policies pertinent to the subject matter, and subsequently proceeds to elucidate the causal factors underlying its formation, its essential components, and its military ramifications. This study, employing the historical research method in a descriptive-analytical manner and relying on library and documentary studies, examines the influential factors in the formulation of the Nixon Doctrine and scrutinizes its military consequences for the enhancement of the Iranian Army’s armament capabilities during the second Pahlavi era. The authors of this research seek to answer the fundamental question: What impact did Nixon’s twin-pillar doctrine in the Persian Gulf, and Iran’s fulfillment of a military role as the primary pillar of this doctrine, have on the army’s armament capabilities between 1969 and 1971 C.E.? In this study, while adhering to the principle of academic integrity and relying on credible sources, an initial examination is made of the historical-political contexts leading to the emergence of the Nixon Doctrine. This includes the Cold War and its critical turning point, the Vietnam War, and ultimately, the shift in the United States’ approach to its grand strategies at the international system level. Following the collection, validation, and classification of data from these diverse sources, the authors have conducted a qualitative analysis and engaged in scientific inference regarding the dimensions of the Nixon Doctrine’s impact on Iran’s armament capabilities. Result and Discussion The formulation and implementation of the Nixon Doctrine in the late 1960s C.E. can be fundamentally understood and analyzed within the context of the ideological and geopolitical conflicts of the Cold War era, and particularly under the influence of its decisive turning point, the Vietnam War. This doctrine represented a shift in United States policy to reduce direct U.S. military commitments worldwide and rely on allied regional powers to maintain stability and contain communist influence at the international system level. This policy shift had profound impacts on the structure of the international system and power equations in various regions of the world, including the sensitive Middle East region and, more specifically, the Persian Gulf. Iran, under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became one of the pivotal elements for the implementation of this doctrine in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region. The British military withdrawal from East of Suez in 1971 C.E.—itself a consequence of the decline of its colonial power after World War II and an indicator of the hegemonic transition from Britain to the United States—created a power vacuum in the Persian Gulf region. At a time when the United States, affected by the repercussions of the Vietnam War and domestic pressures, was refraining from direct military intervention in crisis regions, Iran emerged as an ideal candidate to fill this vacuum and assume the role of protecting Western interests. Iran’s strategic position, its shared border with the Soviet Union, abundant energy resources, as well as the Shah’s personal interest and ambition to transform Iran into a dominant regional power, provided the basis for this selection. Thus, Iran became the primary pillar of the so-called twin-pillar policy within the Nixon Doctrine in the Persian Gulf, transforming into the region’s gendarme. The Pahlavi regime’s acceptance of this role, in the first instance, entailed significant military consequences for Iran. The most significant of these consequences was the unprecedented quantitative and qualitative expansion of the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces’ capabilities, which endowed Iran with the capacity to intervene in regional crises, such as the suppression of the Dhofar rebellion in Oman, with the aim of countering communist movements. The massive and virtually unrestricted procurement of advanced weaponry and military equipment, particularly from the United States, was a salient characteristic of this period. Conclusions The challenges confronted by the United States during the Vietnam War prompted Richard Nixon to formulate his doctrine, which emphasized a reduction in direct American military commitments and a reliance on regional allies. The Persian Gulf, as an energy hub and a strategic region, was placed at the core of this doctrine, and the twin-pillar policy, with Iran as the primary military pillar and Saudi Arabia as the secondary financial pillar, was implemented. Iran’s acceptance of the role of regional gendarme, a position that aligned with the ambitions of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, led the United States to abandon its previous restrictions on arms sales. Consequently, a deluge of advanced American weaponry, in both quantitative and qualitative terms, flowed into Iran, and military procurements from Britain and other Western nations, such as Italy and France, also saw a significant increase. This development fundamentally transformed the structure of the Iranian military—across its land, naval, and air forces—and established it as the preeminent military power in the region. Possessing this enhanced capability enabled Iran to undertake direct and indirect military interventions in regional affairs, including the suppression of insurgents in Oman. پایان جنگ جهانی دوم به مثابه آغاز دورانی جدید در تاریخ معاصر ایران است. با پایان جنگ جهانی دوم که به مسلط شدن هژمونی ایالات متحده در تحولات نظام جهانی سرمایهداری و مناسبات نظام بینالملل انجامید، تحولات سیاسی و اقتصادی ایران تحت تأثیر تحولات ایالات متحده، به‌خصوص در دوران جنگ سرد قرار گرفت. در نتیجۀ همین تأثیرپذیری بود که صدور دکترین نیکسون در نتیجۀ چالشهای داخلی و بین‌المللی مداخلۀ ایالات متحده در جنگ ویتنام، ایران را تحث تأثیر خود قرار داد. واگذاری نقش نظامی به عنوان ستون اول به ایران در منطقه خلیج فارس در چارچوب دکترین نیکسون، بر ساختارهای مختلف جامعۀ ایرانی از جمله ساختار نظامی و ارتش تأثیر گذاشت. بر این اساس، پژوهش حاضر درصدد است با استفاده از روش تحقیق تاریخی، به طرح و پاسخ‌گویی این پرسش بپردازد که اجرایی شدن دکترین دو ستونی نیکسون در منطقۀ خلیج‌فارس و ایفای نقش نظامی ایران به عنوان ستون اول این دکترین، چه تأثیری بر توان تسلیحاتی ارتش در سالهای 1969 تا 1971م. داشت؟ یافتههای تحقیق نشان میدهد که همسویی ایالات متحده و ایران و تمایل متقابل ایالات متحده و ایران برای واگذاری و پذیرش نقش نظامی به عنوان ستون اول دکترین دو ستونی نیکسون در منطقه خلیج‌فارس، منجر به افزایش توان تسلیحاتی ایران در سالهای 1969 تا 1971م شد. این افزایش توان تسلیحاتی، ناشی از فراهم شدن امکان خرید تسلیحات نظامی توسط ایران از قدرتهای برخوردار از صنایع نظامی، به‌ویژه با حمایتهای شخصی نیکسون امکانپذیر شد که به شاه و ایران اجازه میداد به منظور ایفای نقش نظامی خود در چارچوب دکترین نیکسون، بتواند سلاحهای جدید و پیشرفته را از ایالات متحده و سایر کشورها از جمله بریتانیا، کشورهای اروپای غربی و حتی اتحاد جماهیر شوروی خریداری کند.

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