Tehran Conference: 80 Years Since Meeting That Changed Course of WWII

Tehran hosted the very first meeting of the "Big Three" Allied leaders, Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union), Franklin D. Roosevelt (US), and Winston Churchill (UK). The lofty idea of fighting against a common enemy is what brought the three nations together.

The Big Three met against the backdrop of monumental victories of the Soviet Red Army, which had liberated over half of its Nazi-occupied territory.

Both US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill recognized the indisputable fact that the Soviet Union not only had its own national interests, but also the might to defend them on the battlefield.

Despite the fact that in many ways the leaders held opposing beliefs and ideals, the Tehran Conference saw the Western Allies' affirm their commitment to opening a second front against Nazi Germany in 1944 (Operation Overlord). The Conference also addressed the Allies' relations with Turkiye and Iran, operations in Yugoslavia and Japan, and the envisaged the subsequent post-war world order.

Check out Sputnik's gallery to learn more about the meeting of the Allies.

1 / 10

Joseph Stalin (left), Franklin D. Roosevelt (center) and Winston Churchill (left) with their delegations at the Tehran Conference (November 28, 1943 – December 1, 1943).

2 / 10

The Tehran Conference (November 28, 1943 – December 1, 1943). The meeting of the “Big Three” Allied leaders, Joseph Stalin (USSR), Franklin D. Roosevelt (US), and Winston Churchill (UK), held at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran.

3 / 10

The Tehran Conference (November 28, 1943 – December 1, 1943). Standing outside the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran are (left to right): a British officer; General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the US Army (US), shaking hands with Sir Archibald Clark Keer, British Ambassador to the USSR (UK); Harry Hopkins, Joseph Stalin’s interpreter (US); Marshal Joseph Stalin (USSR); Vyacheslav Molotov, foreign premier of the Soviet Union (USSR); and Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, a prominent Soviet military officer (USSR).

4 / 10

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meets Indian Sikh security officers in Tehran, Iran (November 28, 1943). Churchill, who celebrates his 69th birthday on November 30, is in Tehran at a conference with the US president and the Soviet Leader.

5 / 10

UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill presents the Sword of Stalingrad to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin on behalf of George VI, the King of the UK. The ceremony takes place in the boardroom of the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran.

6 / 10

The Tehran Conference (November 28, 1943 – December 1, 1943). Marshal Kliment Voroshilov shows the Stalingrad Sword to the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the conference room at the Soviet Embassy in Teheran, Iran (November 28, 1943). The UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Marshal Joseph Stalin are also present.

7 / 10

UK Foreign Minister Anthony Eden (left), UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill (center), and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (right) at the PM Churchill’s 69th birthday party in Tehran, Iran (November 30, 1943). Stalin and Churchill present for a trilateral meeting with US President Roosevelt.

8 / 10

UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill wears a caracul (also called qaraqul) wool hat, given to him by the British press as a 69th birthday gift (November 30, 1943). Churchill is in Tehran at a conference with the US president and Soviet Leader.

9 / 10

The “Big Three,” Franklin D Roosevelt (US), Winston Churchill (UK), and Joseph Stalin (USSR), sit together at Winston Churchill's 69th birthday party, held in the Victorian Drawing Room at the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran (November 30, 1943).

10 / 10

Joseph Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Tehran Conference (December 1, 1943).