Great Britain's decision, announced in 1968, to withdraw its forces from the Persian Gulf by 1971 was a turning point in the modern history of the Middle East. Now regional players had to find rules of common coexistence. With the United States immersed in the Vietnam war and the Soviet Union pursuing a policy of caution, there was no world power waiting to succeed Britain. As a result, Gulf politics 'went local'. This book examines how Iran influenced efforts to reorder the Gulf's political landscape. Its central argument is that a better understanding of the new Gulf order can be achieved by emphasizing local concerns as well as the degree to which regional powers had an influence on the policies of external powers in those times.