Third Power Policy and its Role in the Creation of US-Iran Relations in the Early Rule of Naser al-Din Shah (1850 – 1857 AD)

Iran in the 19th century was different in foreign policy perspective. The catastrophic failures in Russo-Persian wars, the partition of Caucuses form Iran and the Tsars’ plans for accessing southern seas of Iran, British rule over India and Southern Indian Ocean waterways, all revived the importance of Iran as a buffer country in the Eastern policy of London politicians; events which transformed Iran into a center for Russian-British Bipolar Paradigm rivalry. The Iranian politicians acknowledging the dangers of such dual external rule were seeking a third power to decrease the pressure of their Northern-Southern neighbors. Qajar politicians believed that a third power would be a better balancer against Russia and Britain and would be assisting in the protecting national independence and territorial integrity. On the other side, America as a developed country, which set aside civil wars successfully, with the slogan of friendship and trade, was eager to establish political relations with countries like Iran and sign amity and trade agreements. This was the circumstances in which diplomatic relations between Iran and the US was established in the 19th century (AD).