AHC: Best-Case Scenario For Post-1900 Iran

[Gosing]

Your challenge, if you choose, to accept it, are to construct a best-case scenario for Iran with a PoD after January 1, 1900.

Your criteria for "best-case" are:

1. Geopolitical standing-the amount of respect, fear, and admiration held towards Iranians in the community of nations. Can be manifested as either "Uh-oh, the Iranians said we shouldn't do x, we better think twice about it" or "We need a model for governance-let's use Iran for guidance!" For bonus points: spread Iranian culture.
2. General economic status-including having a healthy, diverse, and resilient economy, a mostly content, a not too poor lower class, and a thriving and happy middle class. For bonus points: get Iran as high on the "World's Largest Economies" list as you can.
3. Territory-make Iran as large as possible while keeping it centralized and mostly free of discontented minorities. Obviously it would be best to have Iran's new territory be either-resource rich or strategically important. A large population is good, so long as Iran avoids overpopulation, a wide income gap, or, as I said, discontented minorities.

I would have included military strenght, but it seems to me that if the above components are satisfied that will come on its own. So: bonus points for a strong Iranian military.

As this is an AHC, you can bend the rules of plausibility to the point just before "ASBs give Iran nukes in 1914". Iran doesn't have to be democratic, but as instability and incompetence are fatal to nations in the long run, at least have Iran be a stable and popular dictatorship.

Begin!

 

[Beedok]

So, ASBs give nukes to Iran in 1915?

 

[Gosing]

So, ASBs give nukes to Iran in 1915?

No; sadly, all ASB interventions are equally implausible in my book.

Though that would be an interesting scenario-in the dead heat of the Great War, and ASB gives a couple of ICBMs to Second and Third rate powers (I'm thinking Persia, Bulgaria, Siam, the Riyadhs, etc.). Lot of potential or mayhem.

 

[Beedok]

No; sadly, all ASB interventions are equally implausible in my book.

Though that would be an interesting scenario-in the dead heat of the Great War, and ASB gives a couple of ICBMs to Second and Third rate powers (I'm thinking Persia, Bulgaria, Siam, the Riyadhs, etc.). Lot of potential or mayhem.

Well you said just short of nukes in 1914, so I was trying to be clever.

 

[Revolutionary Avocado]

Well, the obvious PoD that comes to mind for me is a more constructive solution to the political crisis that led to Operation Ajax, the 1953 military coup against Mossadegh. If a better solution can be found and negotiated by the USA (maybe partial nationalization of Iran's oil fields along with better treatment of workers), then Iran will remain pro-American but also fairly independent. Under Mossadegh's rule, increased revenues from oil will be invested in infrastructure, education and healthcare, and Iran will continue to secularize and develop economically and politically.