CIA & MI6's 1953 Coup in Iran: The Overthrow of Mohammad Mosaddegh

The 1953 Iranian Coup: Operation Ajax

• 💡 The CIA and MI6 orchestrated Operation Ajax in 1953 to overthrow Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh.
• 🎯 This covert operation was initiated after the US adopted a policy of secretly overthrowing foreign governments following the establishment of the CIA in 1947.
• 🔑 The primary motivation, despite claims of aiding the Shah, was to secure oil interests for Western powers.

Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh's Rise and Reforms

• 🧠 Dr. Mosaddegh was a highly educated nationalist leader who opposed the monarchy and foreign influence, having earned a PhD from a European university.
• ✅ As Prime Minister, his first revolutionary step was to nationalize Iran's oil industry, reclaiming it from foreign control, particularly the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
• 📊 The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company had been exploiting Iran's resources, giving Iran only 17% of oil profits while taking 83% and deducting expenses from the total.

International Pressure and US Involvement

• ⚠️ Britain, outraged by the oil nationalization, initially sought international intervention but failed at the International Court of Justice and the UN.
• 🤝 They then sought US assistance, but President Truman initially resisted due to the Korean War and concerns about setting a bad precedent.
• 🚀 The situation changed with President Eisenhower's election, as Winston Churchill convinced him that Mosaddegh was a communist threat, leading to US approval for the coup.

Tactics of Regime Change

• 🛠️ Operation Ajax involved extensive media manipulation, propaganda, and bribery to destabilize Mosaddegh's government.
• 💬 Newspapers were used to spread false narratives, portraying Mosaddegh as a communist, Jewish, or a British agent, with three-quarters of Tehran's newspapers participating.
• 💰 The CIA and MI6 bribed religious figures and military officers, and funded street protests involving criminals to create chaos and turn public opinion against Mosaddegh.
• 🚨 The assassination of Police Chief General Afshartus by British agents, who had a list of those bribed, was a key event in suppressing opposition.

Aftermath and Legacy

• ⚖️ Following the coup, Mosaddegh was tried for treason, sentenced to three years of solitary confinement, and then placed under house arrest until his death in 1967.
• 👑 The Shah returned to power, ruling as an authoritarian leader for 25 years and granting 40% of Iran's oil fields to American companies as a thank you.
• 📈 Declassified documents confirmed the CIA's role, revealing how this operation poisoned US-Iran relations and fueled Iranian nationalism, with the US continuing to fund anti-regime groups.