Iran’s Scramble for Sub-Saharan Africa

Fueled by the Iranian oil revenues, Tehran, under both the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1941-1979) and since 1979 the Islamic Republic of Iran, has intervened in the affairs of sub-Saharan Africa. The Shah’s policy was motivated by a ‘defensive’ anti-communist/anti-radicalism containment posture. Conversely, the Islamic Republic of Iran adopted an ‘offensive’ or disruptive policy to alter a political status quo deemed hostile to the survival of the Islamic Republic of Iran. To understand Iran’s scramble to secure its interests in sub-Saharan Africa, four periods will be examined in this analysis: i) the Shah and containment, 1953-1979; ii) the Islamic Republic of Iran’s diplomatic ‘offensive,’ 1980-2001; iii) the Islamic Republic of Iran seeking to ‘escape’ international isolation, 2002-2010; and iv) the Saudi-Iranian Cold War, 2011-2018. * University of Connecticut, U.S. Insight Turkey Vol. 21 / No. 1 / 2019, pp. 133-150 Iran’s Scramble for Sub-Saharan Africa JEFFREY A. LEFEBVRE*