The United States was heavily involved in Middle Eastern affairs during the second half of the twentieth century. After President Eisenhower's election in 1952, growing U.S. fear of Iranian nationalism and the potential spread of communism throughout the Persian Gulf eventually convinced U.S. forces to help Britain's MI6 oust the former from power. Iranian minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. The CIA successfully overthrew Mossadegh and created a power vacuum in the Middle East, in 1953, through Operation Ajax. The United States then informally colonized Iran, under the rule of Shah Pahlavi, to gain economic and political hegemony over the unstable Persian Gulf. The United States effectively transformed the Shah into an autocratic ruler who controlled the Iranian government and people. As a result of Pahlavi's despotic rule, the Iranian public felt growing enmity towards the Shah and, consequently, the United States for its support of the Pahlavi government. In the 1970s, tensions between Iranian citizens and the government increased as the population suffered from economic and social inequalities. The country was characterized by urban overpopulation, monetary inflation, and rampant corruption regarding the election of political and military leaders. Furthermore, many Iranians and religious believers saw Western culture in the United States as an eroding and corrupting force on their traditional culture and values. The secularization of Iranian society shocked clergy and Muslims of all classes because they believed that government should be based on Sharia, not secular law. When public protests and subversive literature began to emerge, the United States helped the Shah suppress opponents of his regime through the creation of organizations such as SA... middle of paper... Americans held hostage for 444 days because he wanted to show “l "Iran's independence and opposition to American power." The long Iranian hostage crisis, which occurred during two presidential terms, heightened tensions and created a lasting rift between the United States and Iran. Americans were outraged by the Iranians' mistreatment of the hostages, and Khomeini's followers still resented the secularization of Iran under the Shah's puppet regime. Over the course of two decades, Iranian citizens developed a negative view of the United States and Western culture because the despotic Shah, supported by the United States, failed to improve the well-being of all Iranian social classes. Operation Ajax was ultimately unsuccessful as the Shah's unpopular rule caused relations between the United States and Iran to deteriorate, and Iran's secular form of government was replaced with Sharia law.