Regarding Iran, I just finished reading a fascinating bit of WWII history that I had never heard. In 1940 the Iraqi government went pro-German and the Brits overthrew them. When the Shah of Iran started cozying up to the Germans, there was a joint BRITISH-RUSSIAN invasion of Iran to overthrow him and secure the southern supply lines to Russia. Iraq and Iran have both had plenty of Nazi sympathizers in the past, and the West had to fix the problem.
I'm gonna need a link/source on that.
I know the governor of Iraq tried to go over to the Nazis, and the Brits invaded and put an end to that.