And yetat least upon first glancemodern-day Iran couldnt seem any more dissimilar to the United States. But as these images suggest, there once was a time when the streets of Tehran mirrored those of, say, L.A., and national leaders would engage in discourse that consisted of more than sighs, sanctions and spats. So just what exactly changed?

When trying to understand why the world looks the way it does today, its often helpful to start with the Cold War. The case of Iran is no exception. Beginning in the 20th century, Iran had been ruled by the Shah monarchy, which funded its decadent lifestyle through oilmainly through concessions to Great Britain, who relied heavily upon the oil during both World Warswhile allowing the majority of Iranians to live a life defined by poverty. Over time, Iranians grew tired of working to see wealth literally extracted from beneath their feet, and a man named Mohammad Mossadegh rose to power.

Mossadegh was elected as Prime Minister in 1951 and, like so many in the Middle East who were voted into power at the time, engaged in a sweeping number of pro-poor democratic reforms, which included the nationalization of Iranian oil. Great Britain, which depended on cheap and easy access to these oil reserves and was fearful of what the Soviet Union might do if they got their hands on them, would not have any of it, and made it so that the Iranian economy would plummet and Mossadegh would inevitably be overthrown. That did happen, but not for nearly as long as Great Britain would have liked. Mossadegh did resign, but reassumed the position of Prime Minister after days of protest.