The 1953 Coup D’etat in Iran
The Iranian Coup, also known as the Ajax Operation is a covert operation organized by the United Kingdom and the USA to overthrow Iran’s democratically elected nationalist cabinet and prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh and strengthen the monarchical rule of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi was the last Shah of Iran and started ruling in 1941. The operation was also the first US covert action in peacetime to overthrow a foreign government.
The coup overthrew the government of Mossadegh. When Mohammad Mossadegh was in charge he was a beloved figure. He served as the Iranian Prime Minister starting from 1951. His government was overthrown in 1953 when the Iranian coup took place. He implemented a number of social and economic policies during his rule, the most notable one being the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry.
The history of Iran’s oil industry began in 1901. Later on Iran asked the British speculator William Darcy to explore and develop southern Iran’s oil resources. For decades, through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co., Great Britain controlled Iran’s oil. The prime minister broke off negotiations after months of talks and denied the British any further intervention in Iran.
The parliament, which was governed by Mohammad Mossadegh, voted to nationalize Iran’s oil industry and export foreign company members from the country following AIOC’s failure to cooperate with the Iranian government. Britain boycotted Iranian oil around the world after this vote in order to place economic pressure on Iran. The British Prime Minister initially mobilized the British army and seized charge of the oil refinery, but former Prime Minister of Britain, Clement Attlee, later chose to squeeze the economic boycott by using Iranian agents to overthrow the government of Mosaddegh.
In March 1953, Britain paired up with the U.S. and started forming a plan to overthrow the government and bring power to another government in Iran that would also be preferred by the United States. The C.I.A. was also involved in the plan. C.I.A. officers met in Beirut in June for a final review of the coup strategy. In July, the Prime Minister of Britain gave final approval to the coup’s operational plan. The CIA is also intensifying a propaganda campaign to undermine the Mossadegh government, including planting articles in major American newspapers. The coup starts in August, but falters and then fails because Mossadegh got advanced warning of the plans.
After a few days Zahedi, who was an Iranian general, announced that he was prime minister, dismissing Mossadegh’s office and that the Shah, Pahlavi, had approved this change. The C.I.A, disappointed by the failed coup, sends orders to Tehran commanding that the operations against Mossadegh be stopped. The next day, massive protests broke out across Iran that were supporting the shah. The protests left almost 300 dead in the streets of Tehran. Soon, the government of Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown by the coup. The Shah was reinstalled as the government of Iran.
- Authors: Alida Ovadya & Yasemin Yırcalı
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