Occupation of Iran in World War 2

The first shots of the allied invasion of Iran were fired by HMS Shoreham, targeting the Iranian warship Palang, at Abadan.  At the same time, the British and soviet ambassadors presented what amounted to a formal declaration of war to the Iranian Prime Minister.  Swiftly, the British destroyed or captured most of the Iranian ships – and the stuck German ships – and occupied the oil refineries at Abadan and Bander-I Shahpur.  Resistance was uncoordinated, in some places the Iranians fought hard, but their lack of time to prepare their defences meant that the British won quickly. Meanwhile, the RAF was attacking Iranian airbases and lines of communication.  Soon, British and Indian troops crossed the border from Iraq and headed towards Qasr Shiekh.