President Richard Nixon Visits the Shah of Iran - 1972

Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, the U.S. continued to support the President Nixon's foreign policy during his first term in office was focused on improving relations with key allies and establishing new partnerships to counter the influence of the Soviet Union. Nixon believed in the concept of detente, a policy of easing tensions between the United States and its adversaries, including the Soviet Union and China.Nixon saw the Shah of Iran as a valuable ally in the region and a key partner in his strategy of countering Soviet influence in the Middle East.