It was the first of the Allied conferences during World War II which involved the “Big Three” (the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union). The meeting took place at Tehran’s Soviet embassy a year following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.
From left to right: Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
New Delhi: The Tehran Conference was a meeting of strategic discussion between the major Allied powers of World War II. The meeting took place between US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin in Tehran, Iran, between November 28 and December 1, 1943.
It was the first of the Allied conferences during World War II which involved the “Big Three” (the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union). The meeting took place at Tehran’s Soviet embassy a year following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.
The meeting of the Big 3 during the World War II
During World War II, there were differences between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin regarding ideologies and decisions. The Soviet Red Army on the Eastern Front had to free off the German pressure and there were tensions between the US and Britain since the former did not want to give the British Empire credit if the Allied powers won. Also, neither the United States nor the United Kingdom was prepared to give Stalin a free hand in Eastern Europe, and there was no common policy on how to deal with Germany after the war. They communicated by telegrams and via emissaries but needed to meet in person.
Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt in a place
On November 28, 1943, Stalin arrived well before others and Roosevelt went in his wheelchair since his health was deteriorating. It was the first time they both met. Churchill arrived after them, about half an hour later. During the Conference, the three leaders formed a military strategy against Germany and Japan. They focused on the war’s next phases against the Axis powers in Europe and Asia. The UK and the US finally committed to launching Operation Overlord, an invasion of northern France.
Even though the three leaders had different objectives when they came to Tehran, the meeting’s main outcome was that the UK and the US committed to opening a second front against Nazi Germany which would pull its military assets away from the Eastern Front with the Soviets. Also, the meeting addressed their relations with Iran and Turkey. Talks also took place about operations in Yugoslavia and against Japan. A separate contract also saw the Big Three pledge to recognize Iranian independence.
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