Americans developed a particular interest in Khuzestan, Iran's oil-rich province. The engineering firm Development & Resources Corp., managed by David C. Lilienthal and Gordon S. Clapp, launched a $140 million program to develop Khuzestan, modeled after the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority), a major project of the New Deal era in the United States. Lilienthal and Clapp sought to tie Iran's petrochemical resources to its water and soil, an ambitious venture meant to grow the country's nascent industrial base while simultaneously delivering benefits to its agricultural population.
