Reza Pahlavi Mohammed, (1919–1980), the Shah of Iran. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

Princess Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari (1932–2001), the Empress of Iran and wife of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. The marriage was dissolved in 1958. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). Circa 1950

The Shah of Iran Mohamed Mahoud Pash and the Prince of Iran at table. (Photo by Riad Shehata/Getty Images). 1950

Two men perform the customary handwashing ceremony at a traditional Muslim wedding in the Mazanderan province of Iran. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

A peasant woman roasts a joint of meat in the Muslim manner, in the Mazanderan province of northern Iran. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

A woman taking off her shoes and leaving them with a pile of others at the entrance to the former Shah of Persia's Mausoleum which is guarded by soldiers. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

Two actors from a production of Oscar Wilde's play, “Lady Windemere's Fan” talk back-stage at the Theatre Saadi in Tehran. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

The exterior of Tehran's Theatre Saadi where a group of people study a billboard. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

Iranian peasants making rugs by kneading pieces of wool together after steaming them under pressure. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

A young Iranian boy learning how to write on a blackboard. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

The central square of Hamadan where veiled women gather together. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1950

Princess Fatima of Persia and her bridegroom, American University graduate, Vincent Les Hillyer, at their Muslim wedding ceremony at the Persian Embassy in Paris. On the right is American film actress and dancer Rita Hayworth (1918–1987), Princess Aly Khan (born Margarita Carmen Cansino). (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). May 1950

Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran with his second wife Princess Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari after their wedding ceremony. His sisters who acted as bridesmaids are on the left. The marriage was dissolved in 1958. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). February 1951

Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, immediately before his wedding. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). 14th February 1951

A deserter from the army being escorted by two members of the military police. Desertions are frequent in Iran where the population is not accustomed to organised militarism. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1952

Village girls dance at a wedding festival in the Mazanderan province of nothern Iran, near the Russian border. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1952

A Khan or feudal lord of a province lifts the veil from the face of a muslim bride in a village wedding ceremony. Her groom sits beside her with lit candles symbolising life. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1952

A young mother and child from the Mazanderan province in northern Iran near the Caspian Sea and the Russian border. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1952

A street stall in Teheran selling bowls of steaming soup. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1952

Standing on a rooftop a muezzin is calling the faithful to prayer. Behind him rises a minaret. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1952

Shepherds from the north wear their traditional heavy woollen mantles as they stand ready to shear sheep with sycthe-like shears. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1952

A girl student at a vocational training school for seamstresses studies the theoretical aspects of her work. This is one of the first schools for girls founded by the government in Teheran. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1952

Third class rail travellers on the train through the Luristan region, Iran. A man on the left is reading a magazine with an anti-Soviet cartoon depicting red Russia about to sever China's head with its symbolic sickle as the world protests in vain. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1952

Official Iranian government newspapers lead with a cover denouncing the encroachment of Russia's influence in Iran. In this newspaper a red-starred hand is shown reaching over the northern border mountains of Iran into the mosques of the nation. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). 1952

Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, with his wife Soraya, Queen of Persia and daughter Princess Shahnaz at the airport at Tehran, bound for Switzerland. The Shah left Persia for an indefinite period during which a Regency Council governed the country. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). February 1953

Shielding themselves from the far-reaching heat of a burning oil well, two Iranian National Oil Company workers rush across the fields of the Iranian countryside. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1954

An Iranian oil worker in an arid landscape, an oil tank in the distance, sits enjoying the labourer's staple diet of bread and tea. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1954

The Shah of Iran and his wife Queen Soraya Esfandiari Bakhtiari with Sir Winston Churchill leaving No 10 Downing Street. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1954

A man using a sharp spade to mix straw with clay-like mud to build building blocks for houses in Iran. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

An Iranian smokes a Persian hookah or water pipe on the pavement in Isafahan. The pipe is hired by a specialist merchant for single use. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

Oil drilling taking place in Iran. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

An Iranian man finishing his cup of tea from the saucer. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

A woman reading from the Koran during her prayers which she makes five times a day. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

A railway engineer resting for a cigarette at Zagheh in the Luristan mountains of West Central Persia. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

A Muslim man trims his beard at a self service barber shop at Aga Uhari, Iran. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

Musicians herald the coming of bridal guests during a wedding ceremony in the Mananderen province near the Caspian Sea. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

An Iranian soldier on sentry duty at his post near the Russian border at Babol-Sar, Iran. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

Iranian women wait outside whilst the men meet in a teashop in Mashad, Iran. (Photo by Richard Harrington/Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

A well is dug in Yazd, Iran, using a wooden windlass and leather bag. Many of the methods and construction techniques used in Iran have not changed in a thousand years. (Photo by Richard Harrington/Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

A man smoking opium in a village in Iran. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

A Persian soldier guarding an oil production site belonging to the Iranian oil company at Abadan on the northern tip of the Persian Gulf. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

The Melli bank which is the centre of foreign commerce in Teheran, Persia. The architecture is modern though the relief figures on the front are of ancient Persians. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955