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Due to the cold war and Iran's geographical proximity to the Soviet Union, the Shah did not have much choice than to ally himself closely to the U.S.. The Shah also saw it as necessary to establish close relations to Israel, mainly due to the hostile stance towards Iran by Arab states such as Libya, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. (Though the Saudi's would not display their hostility openly) Many people criticize the Shah for relying too much on the U.S., and some even claim that this was one of the many factors that led to his downfall.
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