At the same time, it was here that the contradictions of the oil economy were most acute. Many Iranians perceived foreign company control over national resources as a form of economic dependence. Political movements demanding national control over the country's oil wealth formed around the oil industry, one of whose leaders was Mohammad Mosaddegh, the future Prime Minister of Iran. It was he who nationalized Iran's oil industry in 1951. The nationalization of the Abadan refinery is dedicated to a series of stamps of the same name issued in 1953. We will not delve into the causes and consequences of nationalization, as this will be the topic of one of our future discussions, especially since there is plenty of philatelic material from different countries on this subject.

After nationalization, management of all oil assets in Iran was transferred to a new state structure: the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Nationalization immediately caused a serious international crisis. Great Britain, whose interests were directly affected, imposed economic pressure measures against Iran. British specialists left Abadan, and foreign companies refused to buy Iranian oil. In addition, an effective international boycott of Iranian oil supplies was imposed. As a result, the country's oil industry was paralyzed.

The Abadan refinery was at the center of this crisis. Despite attempts by Iranian authorities to continue production on their own, the lack of technical specialists, spare parts, and international markets quickly made the plant's operation nearly impossible. In 1951, production at the world's largest refinery effectively stopped. The city, which had lived off the oil industry for decades, fell into economic decline. Many workers lost their jobs, trade shrank, and infrastructure designed for the rapid development of the oil economy began to deteriorate.

This shutdown had not only economic but also political significance. Abadan became a symbol of Iran's struggle for control over its resources, but also an example of how dependent the national economy was on the international oil system. The boycott of Iranian oil sharply reduced government revenues and intensified internal political tensions.