Examining the reasons behind the struggle between Iran and Britain over the governance of Bahrain and how it gained sovereignty (19th and 20th centuries)

The issue of islands and ports in Persian Gulf has been a bone of contention due to the British colonial policies and its persistence on those policies especially regarding Bahrain until 1971. The security treaties made between the England and sheikhs were among the most important excuses of the British authorities to reject the claims of Iranian officials over these lands, however until the 1960s, Iran had never stopped claiming governance over Bahrain. Following the changes in global and regional conditions, the need to resolve the border issues, and with the British withdrawal from the region, a dramatic change was developed in the perspective of English and Iranian negotiators and consequently raised the issue of the independence of Bahrain. The issue of Bahrain was finally resolved after Iran agreed to refer the issue to a referendum in 1971 which led to the independence of Bahrain from Iran. This research applies a descriptive and analytical method and uses the library and archival documents to analyze the factors and reasons behind the Iranian British dispute over Bahrain during the two centuries and which factors influenced the decision made by the Pahlavi regime which led to the independence of Bahrain. This study presumes the importance of both a change in international relations after the Second World War and also the change of Internal and regional policies of Iran. Findings suggest that the growing inability of the British government to ensure political and economic benefits in eastern Suez channel, the emergence of Soviet Union and United states as two world powers, the beginning of the cold war, and a growth in national and political movements with an attempt to militarize the region, all laid the ground to resolve the issue and led to the sovereignty of Bahrain.