Only after the Central Asian War broke out did the Persian Government realize it had been played by the Russians—or rather, by the bureaucrats within the Tsarist Government.
The promised aid had indeed been provided, but it had been delayed by just a little in execution and discounted somewhat in quantity.
Minor problems that went unnoticed in peacetime became major problems in war. With the support proving inadequate, the Persian army was pressed down and beaten by the British from the very start.
For its own safety, the Persian Government decided to bring in a third power to balance British and Russian influence and bring this war to an end as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, the Persian officials were not particularly sharp-witted. Their first instinct was to approach the Americans, hoping to use American power to balance the United Kingdom and Russia.
Sadly, the United States of this era was not the swaggering superpower it would become in later generations. It might have had some say in affairs of the Americas, but who in Central Asia even knew who they were?
Seeing how unyielding the United Kingdom and Russia were, the Americans, who only wanted a share of the privileges, naturally lost their nerve at once. Of course, even if they had not, no one would have listened to them.
Left with no alternative, the Persian Government turned its gaze once more toward the European Continent and sought help from France and Austria.
Vienna
Metternich handed a document to Franz and said, "Your Majesty, this is a diplomatic note from the Persian Government. They hope that we can mediate the Central Asian War."
After reading through it, Franz shook his head. "Reject the Persian Government. For the moment, there is no need for us to involve ourselves in Persian affairs."