WI Stalin refused to leave Iran?

He would have done the same as the British when they simple seized the country. He would have imposed a puppet regime which handed over all natural resources to him.

As to hurting his standing, who are you kidding? The entire Middle East had been brutally conquered/puppeted by Britain (and France) with practically no independent countries left. What's one more colonial oppressor?

Sure, England would have screamed bloody murder, sensitive as they were about India, but who'd have cared? It's not as if the creation of the Eastern bloc inspired much actual opposition beyond alliances etc.
 
What you are falling to realize that Stalin was not willing to risk a war with the west over Iran. Sure he would like to seize the land but his country could not go through another war. All that was needed was for the US to show resolve and the Soviets would have backed down.

I know that the Turks were not eager to start a war with Russia but a well armed Turkey would have also caused the Russians to rethink any adventurism in the Middle East.
 
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