overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iran
Factsheet
1953 Iranian coup d'état Part of the Abadan Crisis and the Cold War
Coup supporters celebrate victory in Tehran
Coup supporters celebrate victory in Tehran
Government-Insurgents
Iranian Government supporters House of Pahlavi supporters
United States
United Kingdom
United States
United Kingdom
1953 Iranian coup d'état Part of the Abadan Crisis and the Cold War
Coup supporters celebrate victory in Tehran
Coup supporters celebrate victory in Tehran
Government-Insurgents
Iranian Government supporters House of Pahlavi supporters
United States
United Kingdom
United States
United Kingdom
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › 1953_Iranian_coup_d'état
1953 Iranian coup d'état - Wikipedia
4 days ago - On 19 August 1953, Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown in a coup d'état orchestrated by the United States (CIA) and the United Kingdom (MI6). A key motive was to protect British oil interests in Iran after Mosaddegh nationalized and refused to concede to western oil demands.
Zinn Education Project
zinnedproject.org › news › tdih › iran-coup
Aug. 19, 1953: U.S. and Britain Topple Democratically Elected Government of Iran - Zinn Education Project
2 weeks ago - On Aug. 19, 1953, Iranian Premier Mohammad Mossadegh was removed from power in a coup organized and financed by the British and U.S. governments. The Shah quickly returned to take power and signed over forty percent of Iran’s oil fields to U.S.
Videos
03:31
Why did Mohammad Mosaddegh nationalize Iran’s oil industry? - ...
Why did Mohammad Mosaddegh nationalize Iran's oil industry ...
01:32:45
"The Legacy of Mohammad Mosaddegh" A Book Talk by Nicolas Gorjestani ...
01:15:14
The Legacy of Mohammad Mosaddegh with Nicolas Gorjestani - YouTube
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mohammad_Mosaddegh
Mohammad Mosaddegh - Wikipedia
2 days ago - Mohammad Mosaddegh (Persian: محمد مصدق, IPA: [mohæmˈmæd(-e) mosædˈdeɢ] ⓘ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of the Iranian parliament from 1923, and served through a contentious 1952 election into the 17th Iranian Majlis, until his government was overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état aided by the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom (MI6) and the United States (CIA), led by Kermit Roosevelt Jr.
Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training
adst.org › 2015 › 07 › the-coup-against-irans-mohammad-mossadegh
The Coup Against Iran’s Mohammad Mossadegh – Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training
HOFFACKER: The Shah was on the throne. It was rather shaky because [Mohammad] Mossadegh, the Prime Minister, was hanky-panking with the Commies. And we, Uncle Sam, could not tolerate any of that. Iran was too important. And Mossadegh was vulnerable.
Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › world history › wars, battles & armed conflicts
1953 coup in Iran | Coup D’etat, Description & Facts | Britannica
February 12, 2024 - Mosaddegh was imprisoned for three years and then lived the rest of his life under house arrest. It is generally agreed today that the 1953 coup sowed the seeds for the Islamic Revolution of 1979, in which the shah was overthrown and went into exile.
NPR
npr.org › 2019 › 01 › 31 › 690363402 › how-the-cia-overthrew-irans-democracy-in-four-days
How The CIA Overthrew Iran's Democracy In 4 Days : Throughline : NPR
February 7, 2019 - August 19, 1953: Massive protests broke out across Iran, leaving almost 300 dead in firefights in the streets of Tehran. Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh was soon overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the CIA and British intelligence. The ...
Texas National Security Review
tnsr.org › home › the collapse narrative: the united states, mohammed mossadegh, and the coup decision of 1953
The Collapse Narrative: The United States, Mohammed Mossadegh, and the Coup Decision of 1953 - Texas National Security Review
April 16, 2025 - On Aug. 19, 1953, elements inside Iran organized and funded by the Central Intelligence Agency and British intelligence services carried out a coup d’état that overthrew the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. Historians have yet to reach a consensus on why the Eisenhower administration opted to use covert action in Iran, tending to either emphasize America’s fear of communism or its desire to control oil as the most important factor influencing the decision.
EBSCO
ebsco.com › research-starters › politics-and-government › iranian-leader-mossadegh-overthrown
Iranian Leader Mossadegh Is Overthrown | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
Muhammad Mossadegh was a prominent Iranian leader known for his role as a liberal politician and prime minister from April 1951 until his overthrow on August 19, 1953. He was an influential figure in the push for the nationalization of Iran's oil industry, challenging the dominance of foreign companies, particularly the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
NYTimes
nytimes.com › library › world › mideast › 041600iran-coup-timeline.html
Nytimes
CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE · • Support grows for the nationalization of Iran's oil industry
PBS
pbs.org › newshour › world › in-first-cia-acknowledges-1953-coup-it-backed-to-overthrow-leader-of-iran-was-undemocratic
In first, CIA acknowledges 1953 coup it backed to overthrow leader of Iran was undemocratic | PBS News
October 12, 2023 - Iran's hard-line state television spent hours discussing the coup that toppled Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh on its anniversary in June. In their telling, a straight line leads from the coup to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ultimately toppled the fatally ill shah.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/askhistorians › was mohammad mosaddegh's involvement in the nationalization of oil in iran one of the leading reasons for him being overthrown?
r/AskHistorians on Reddit: Was Mohammad Mosaddegh's involvement in the nationalization of oil in Iran one of the leading reasons for him being overthrown?
March 30, 2023 -
My old Kurdish coworker was involved in the Iranian army that sided with the US during the early 2000s(?) and was very interested in the history of US involvement with them. He was specifically passionate about Mohammad Mosaddegh. I just wonder if there was much more going on than just what he had readily available as knowledge in the moment.
I've looked into this somewhat but I would love more information on how the attempt to nationalize the oil in the region affected the rest of the world and led up to the overthrow of his spot as Prime Minister. Was there more involved with the overthrow other than just the nationalization of the oil?
Also I'm very interested in knowing more about how this affected the long term stability of the region.
Top answer 1 of 2
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Yes, but not in the way it is often described by most people (who typically only have a passing knowledge of the events). The decision to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and the coup that followed are generally not placed in their geopolitical and domestic contexts, which show that the coup was a very complex event, and many of the coup's backers had different motivations for backing the coup. The Geopolitical Context Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi appointed Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1951, during a period when Iran was in a tight spot geopolitically. The country was still recovering from the Anglo-Soviet occupation during WWII and the tumultuous events that followed. In 1941, the British and Soviets had invaded and occupied Iran due to Shah Reza Pahlavi's alleged pro-German sympathies. Reza was forced to abdicated the throne in favor of his young son, Mohammed Reza, and the Allied Powers only promised to withdraw following the end of the war. In 1946, the Soviets failed to withdraw from Iran as promised, and instead attempted to partition off Iranian Azerbaijan and Kurdistan as Soviet client states. American pressure forced the Soviets to withdraw, and this contributed greatly to bringing the Iran into the American sphere of influence. The Americans were, at this point, favorably compared to the British and the Soviets; unlike the latter, the Americans had not attempted to steal Iranian territory, and unlike the former, America was not taking much of the profits from Iran's mineral wealth. The Americans provided training and supplies the Iranian military, and built up connections with that institution. In the developing Cold War, Iran was seen as a strategically vital nation. It was rich in oil, located directly on the Soviet Union's southern flank, and provided a good position from which to influence the wider Middle East. As a result, the Great Powers meddled extensively in Iranian politics. In addition to the aforementioned attempted partition, the Soviet-backed Tudeh Party developed a significant following during this period among the urban population, and the British had already been bribing politicians and bankrolling their electoral campaigns for decades. This was due to Britain's desire to protect its stake in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). The British desire to control Iranian oil was less about greed, as is commonly related, and more about energy security. Britain itself is hardly rich in petroleum resources, and the AIOC provided a vast supply under British control. British interventions in the Middle East during both World Wars had been motivated in large part by a desire to protect the Iranian oil fields from falling into hostile hands. The British saw control over Iran's oil production as a vital national interest. Thus, when Mossadegh attempted to nationalize the AIOC in 1951, they reacted very negatively and pulled out all means short of open warfare to stop it. The United States, for its part, was mainly interested in Iran as a potential Cold War ally in a highly strategic location. The United States government was not very interested in controlling Iran's oil reserves; the United States had massive reserves of its own. As the Anglo-Iranian Oil Crisis heated up in 1951 and '52, many American officials were in fact exasperated with what they called Britain's "rule or ruin" policy on Iran. The American preference was initially that the British and Mosaddegh come to some sort of compromise. However, the United States did desire to keep a strong relationship with Britain, which was one of America's most important foreign allies. Essentially, the United States chose the interests of its British ally over its Iranian one when push came to shove. In addition, the US government was very concerned by the escalating instability in Iran (which I'll get to in the second part of this post). The Americans were wary of the Soviets, via the Tudeh Party, exploiting the situation to overthrow the Iranian government and seize power. This would be a disaster for US interests in the Middle East. American officials supportive of overthrowing Mossadegh believed doing so would help stabilize the country and thus nip this threat in the bud. In this matter, American officials were not incorrect; as the country's political crisis cooled down significantly following Mosaddegh's removal. However, it is widely accepted that the threat of a Tudeh Party takeover was small; something some American officials even argued at the time. Tudeh had grown in popularity, yes, but Iran had very strong anti-communist constituencies (the clergy, the royalists, the military, and much of the rural population), and many Iranians were still wary of the Soviets after what they tried to pull in 1946. In the tense Cold War atmosphere of the early 1950s, however, this threat was exaggerated and took on an outsized importance in the mind of American leadership. Any threat of a communist takeover greater than "minimal" was seen as too great. A final aspect in the USA's decision to back the coup was the change from the Truman to the Eisenhower administration. Truman had been in favor of a compromise to end the Anglo-Iranian oil crisis and was skeptical of Britain's coup plots. Eisenhower was a fresh pair of ears and proved easier to convince. In early 1953, the order was given and the CIA took the lead in organizing a coup d'etat to remove Mosaddegh.
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The Mossadegh Project
mohammadmossadegh.com › biography
Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh Biography | Prime Minister of Iran (1951-1953)
Mossadegh fought both internal corruption and foreign interference, enacted social reforms and nationalized the Iranian oil industry. In 1953, he was overthrown by a British-American coup, arrested and tried as a traitor in military tribunal court.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/askhistorians › why was the us opposed to mosaddegh to the point of overthrowing him?
r/AskHistorians on Reddit: Why was the US opposed to Mosaddegh to the point of overthrowing him?
July 9, 2025 -
To me, it always seemed like Mossadegh represented a lot of the values of America in comparison with other prime ministers. If it was related to British Oil Interests, what does the USA get out of it (especially since many american politicians believed that the British were trying to rule a country in 1950 like they would in 1920, and disagreed with the british approach)
Top answer 1 of 2
41
(this is a 5 part comment) I think it is is wrong to assume the US was "opposed" to Mosaddegh, at least initially. In reality, the US--in their own view--was playing a mediator role between the UK (and by extension the Ango-Persian Oil Company) and Iran, which is where the real tensions lied. I will attempt to portray the events leading up to the ousting of Mosaddegh using now declassified documents from the US state department, all found archived here: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v10 President Truman himself wrote to Dr. Mosaddegh in 1951: I had hoped that the common interests of the two countries directly involved and the common ground which has been developed in your discussions would open the way to a solution of the troublesome and complicated problems which have arisen. You know of our sympathetic interest in this country in Iran’s desire to control its natural resources. From this point of view we were happy to see that the British Government has on its part accepted the principle of nationalization. Mosaddegh himself considered the Americans as mediators, stating: "“When there are two divergent points of view it is good to have the help of a third party.” Of course, Dr. Mosaddegh himself felt that the Americans were too biased towards the British, whereas the British felt the Americans were too biased towards the Iranians. The Americans sincerely held that their mediator role was in the best interest of the Iranian nation and felt that Mosaddegh was being too stubborn in negotiations. At the same time, the Americans also felt the British were being equally unreasonable. President Truman wrote to PM Atlee: Recent information which has reached me has led me to believe that the Iranian Government is willing and even anxious to work out an arrangement with His Majesty’s Government which would safeguard basic British interests and which could satisfy the desires of the Iranian people for nationalization of their petroleum resources...I know that you are fully aware of the serious implications of this explosive situation. I am sure you can understand my deep concern that no action should be taken in connection with this dispute which would result in disagreement between Iran and the free world. I am confident that a solution acceptable both to Great Britain and Iran can be found. I sincerely hope that every effort will be made to accomplish this objective. The Americans eventually tried to go "above the head" of Mosaddegh and appeal to the Shah, who expressed concerns that the prolonging of negotiations by Mosaddegh and the British was essentially tanking the Iranian economy, but also reiterated that he could not intervene (despite having constitutional power to do so) because nationalization is a popular policy among Iranian public, that replacement of the Mosaddegh government would have "very grave consequences". He appeared more concerned with the lack of oil income as a result of the dispute, rather than the dispute itself, and was more focused on finding an expedient resolution so oil production could resume again. Additionally, as the US was Iran's #1 military supplier, he was worried about the effect prolonged negotiations would have on Iran's relationship with the US and again for this reason seemed eager for quick resolution.
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University of Nebraska-Lincoln
digitalcommons.unl.edu › cgi › viewcontent.cgi pdf
The Overthrow of Mohammad Mosaddegh: U.S. Motivations ...
Mossadegh, and the Coup Decision of 1953. Texas National Security Review. https://tnsr.org/2019/11/the-collapse-narrative-the-united-states-mohammed- ... Byrne, M. (2000, November 29). The Secret CIA History of the Iran Coup, 1953. ... Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh Biography | Prime Minister of Iran (1951-1953).
HISTORY
history.com › home › this day in history › august-19 › cia-assisted coup overthrows government of iran | august 19, 1953 | history
CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran | August 19, 1953 | HISTORY
The Iranian military, with the support and financial assistance of the United States government, overthrows the government of Premier Mohammad Mosaddeq and reinstates the Shah of Iran.
Published May 28, 2025
Reddit
reddit.com › r/historyporn › mossadegh, iranian prime minister, under house arrest after cia overthrown his democratic government, iran, 1965 [432x645]
r/HistoryPorn on Reddit: Mossadegh, Iranian prime minister, under house arrest after CIA overthrown his democratic government, Iran, 1965 [432x645]
January 14, 2025 - Operation Ajax: Overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh after he nationalized oil.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
www2.umbc.edu › che › tahlessons › pdf › Confronting_Third_World_Nationalism_PF.pdf pdf
Umbc
∙ Students will explain how the U.S.sponsored overthrow of Prime Minister Mossadegh marked · the beginning of Iranian distrust of the United States. Educational materials were developed through the Teaching American History in Anne Arundel County Program, a partnership between the · Anne Arundel County Public School System and the Center for History Education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The CIAsponsored overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mossadegh, in 1953, is the event that marks the origin of Iranian distrust and hatred
Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › politics, law & government › world leaders › prime ministers
Mohammad Mosaddegh | Biography, 1953 coup in Iran, & Facts | Britannica
July 20, 1998 - Mohammad Mosaddegh (born 1880, Tehran, Iran—died March 5, 1967, Tehran) was an Iranian political leader who nationalized the huge British oil holdings in Iran and, as premier in 1951–53, almost succeeded in deposing the shah.
PBS LearningMedia
pbslearningmedia.org › resource › amex34th-soc-operationajax › operation-ajax-the-plot-to-overthrow-iranian-prime-minister-mossadegh-taken-hostage
Operation Ajax: The Plot to Overthrow Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh | Taken Hostage | PBS LearningMedia
Learn how the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) conspired to overthrow Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 in this video from American Experience. Iranians’ growing intolerance of foreign control of their oil reserves clashed with Western interests in the country.
Published May 8, 2023
Reddit
reddit.com › r/wikipedia › mohammad mosaddegh was the democratically elected prime minister of iran (1951–1953) who nationalized the oil industry, challenging british control. he was overthrown in a cia- and mi6-backed coup, restoring the monarch shah’s power.
r/wikipedia on Reddit: Mohammad Mosaddegh was the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran (1951–1953) who nationalized the oil industry, challenging British control. He was overthrown in a CIA- and MI6-backed coup, restoring the monarch Shah’s power.
July 10, 2025 - Mohammad Mosaddegh (1882–1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 16th Majlis, until his government was overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d'etat aided by the intelligence agencies of the UK and US.