The British invasions of Iceland and Iran

[Depth Charge]

Were the British invasions of Iceland and Iran in violation of any international laws, pacts or accords? Also for example, the Faroe Islands. I don't want to hear of Allied reasoning or rhetoric, because it's redundant.

[Lamprecht]

Possibly violated the Kellogg–Briand Pact
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellogg%E ... riand_Pact


Also:

Immediately after the British arrival, the Icelandic government issued protests to the British that their neutrality had been “flagrantly violated” and “its independence infringed.”

The British responded by offering favorable business agreements, compensation, and a policy of non-interference in Icelandic domestic affairs. Furthermore, the British promised to leave after the war.

Even Winston Churchill visited Iceland personally. He tried to placate the irritated Icelandic government by saying that they were lucky that the British had got to them first. He explained that, had the Germans arrived before them, the Allies would never have let it stand. More deaths, both civilian and military, would most certainly have resulted.

In the meantime, the British continued to funnel more and more troops onto the island until at one point about 20,000 personnel were stationed there. They waited for the German invasion that never came.

https://archive.is/Ud5Co#selection-525.0-525.181



more:

Iceland in the Second World War
...
The United Kingdom, despite occasional unsettling reports, was unable or unwilling to take its own steps to increase influence and friendships in Iceland.

When war began, Denmark and Iceland declared neutrality and ended visits to the island by military vessels and aircraft of the belligerents. London imposed strict export controls on Icelandic goods, preventing profitable shipments to Germany, as part of its naval blockade.

In April 1940 Denmark was invaded and quickly overrun by Germany. From that time, despite the shared monarchy and nominal control over foreign affairs from Copenhagen, Iceland was for all practical purposes completely independent. At the same time, with Germany gaining control of the lengthy Norwegian coast, the original Allied naval blockade line was no longer tenable and Iceland suddenly assumed new importance in British planning.

London offered assistance to Iceland, seeking cooperation "as a belligerent and an ally", but Reykjavik declined and reaffirmed its neutrality.

The British Strike

Britain was now concerned about a coup by Germans already in Iceland (a small diplomatic staff, a few resident nationals, and a few individuals stranded by the war, plus 62 shipwrecked German sailors not yet repatriated) as well as an invasion by sea or air.

On 28 April 1940, Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty at that time, initiated planning to forestall German occupation and establish a British presence on Iceland. The Foreign Office deemed there was no chance of Reykjavik granting any request for such an intrusion but nevertheless opposed occupying Iceland without prior negotiation. The Admiralty preferred to land first and negotiate later. The War Cabinet sided with the Admiralty.

"Force Sturges" sailed from Greenock on 8 May. The force, commanded by Colonel Robert Sturges, was built around the 2nd Royal Marine Battalion of the 101st Royal Marine Brigade (including three batteries of artillery) amounting to 815 officers and men plus a small intelligence detachment. Aboard two cruisers (Berwick and Glasgow) and two destroyers, the expedition entered Reykjavik Bay on the morning of 10 May. Upon landing they were guided by local Britons and quickly secured important localities without incident. German citizens were taken into custody and the consulate seized. On the same day, the German offensive against France, Belgium, and the Netherlands was unleashed.

Although the Icelandic government issued a formal protest and stood by its neutral status, the British occupation was tacitly accepted. The Prime Minister of Iceland spoke of the UK as "a friendly nation" and asked his people "to consider the British soldiers as guests and consequently to show them as all other guests all courtesy." Likewise, the United States accepted the British move. All parties considered it a necessary and prudent step to forestall a German invasion.

https://archive.is/ITiio



Read more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Iceland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupatio ... occupation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland_i ... Neutrality

[Lamprecht]

Also probably violated:
Convention for the Definition of Aggression of July 5, 1933
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_ag ... Aggression
https://archive.is/0pPEE
PDF: http://web.archive.org/web/201802101444 ... n-1933.pdf

[Mortimer]

In the case of Iran it was a clear cut case of aggression - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Sov ... on_of_Iran
The Shah believed in genuine neutrality and refused a British demand to sever all ties with Germany including deporting Germans living in Iran. This gave the British the excuse to invade on the pretext that the Shah was pro German or a German puppet. In a breathtaking display of hypocrisy Churchill and Roosevelt had claimed to be against aggression only a few days before when they signed the Atlantic Charter -
https://codoh.com/library/document/2095/
The Shah actually appealed to Roosevelt for help against the British invasion but was fobbed off by FDR the 2 faced hypocrite par excellence -
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=7486