1
CIA’s Involvement in Mohammad Mosaddegh’s Overthrow
Introduction
The 1953 Iranian coup d'état is one of the most significant events in the Iranian
history. The coup was organized and carried out in favour of the monarchical reign of the
Shah, Mohammed Rezza Pahlavi, as the perpetrators wanted to overthrow the democratically
elected Mohammad Mosaddegh from power. According to several historians, this overthrow
was n response to Mosaddegh’s intentions and desire to audit the documents belonging to the
British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. He had also expressed his desire to ensure that
the Iranian oil was under the custody of Iranians, which may not have augured well with
those that later conspired to overthrow him. For several years, there have been speculations
on what exactly caused Mosaddegh’s departure from office with some arguing that he left
due to popular uprising. However, although for a long time, there was little consensus on who
executed the plan, now there is more compelling evidence that the United States’ CIA played
a key role in his overthrow.
Literature Review
For a long time, there has been an extensive debate on what exactly caused
Mohammad Mosaddegh to leave power. One group advances the idea that Mosaddegh left
Iran because there were too many uprisings in Iran during his tenure. This argument borrows
significantly from the upheavals that Iran faced during most of the 1950s. It is indeed evident
that in the days leading up to the overthrow of Mosaddegh, a lot of violence was witnessed in
the country a few days before his exit from power. However, there is more compelling
evidence now that while the uprisings caused him to leave, there was still a hand working
behind the scenes to ensure his departure. While it is true that there were people agitating for
, CIA’S INVOLVEMENT IN MOHAMMAD MOSADDEGH’S OVERTHROW 2
a course, evidence now indicates that the CIA played a significant role in masterminding,
initiating and executing the riots.
The history leading up to the expulsion of Mosaddegh from power started much
earlier, at least fifty years before it happened. The story started on May 28th 1901, when Shah
Mozzafar of Persia ordered for an oil concession with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. It is
this company that later changed to the British Petroleum (Ferrier, 1982, p56). This set a
precedent for the British deals in petroleum from Persia. After thirteen years, the British
government entered into a contract with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, in which the British
government would pay for 51% of the company’s stock. This gave the government the upper
hand in the petroleum in Persia. This new change came as a result of the then British Prime
Minister, Winston Churchill changing the naval ships from being coal-run to oil-run, and
therefore necessitating a huge reserve for petroleum (Ferrier, 1982, p71). Within about thirty-
five years, Iran was source to at least 40% of all western oil and 75% of all oil in Europe.
However, in 1951, Mohammad Mosaddegh came to power in Persia, which had by
now become Iran. He became a democratically elected prime minister of Iran, to replace the
monarchical Shah, who had been placed in power by the western countries to protect their
interests. As soon as he came to power, Mosaddegh introduced a bill in parliament to
nationalize the oil and therefore use the profits made from the oil to build Iran (Dehghan,
2013, p3). His desire was in response to the several decades of Western influence which had
seen the APOC being in charge of the oil, and therefore depriving Iran of huge profits. These
proposed changes did not augur well with the British authorities who would soon lose their
grip to the oil, and therefore they began to strategize on how to prevent Mosaddegh from
nationalize the oil sector. It was a matter of days before the oil-nationalization issue placed
Mosaddegh in a conflicting situation with the British government (Gasiorowski, 2012, p671).
When this issue was brought to the International Court of Justice, the court threw the case
CIA’s Involvement in Mohammad Mosaddegh’s Overthrow
Introduction
The 1953 Iranian coup d'état is one of the most significant events in the Iranian
history. The coup was organized and carried out in favour of the monarchical reign of the
Shah, Mohammed Rezza Pahlavi, as the perpetrators wanted to overthrow the democratically
elected Mohammad Mosaddegh from power. According to several historians, this overthrow
was n response to Mosaddegh’s intentions and desire to audit the documents belonging to the
British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. He had also expressed his desire to ensure that
the Iranian oil was under the custody of Iranians, which may not have augured well with
those that later conspired to overthrow him. For several years, there have been speculations
on what exactly caused Mosaddegh’s departure from office with some arguing that he left
due to popular uprising. However, although for a long time, there was little consensus on who
executed the plan, now there is more compelling evidence that the United States’ CIA played
a key role in his overthrow.
Literature Review
For a long time, there has been an extensive debate on what exactly caused
Mohammad Mosaddegh to leave power. One group advances the idea that Mosaddegh left
Iran because there were too many uprisings in Iran during his tenure. This argument borrows
significantly from the upheavals that Iran faced during most of the 1950s. It is indeed evident
that in the days leading up to the overthrow of Mosaddegh, a lot of violence was witnessed in
the country a few days before his exit from power. However, there is more compelling
evidence now that while the uprisings caused him to leave, there was still a hand working
behind the scenes to ensure his departure. While it is true that there were people agitating for
, CIA’S INVOLVEMENT IN MOHAMMAD MOSADDEGH’S OVERTHROW 2
a course, evidence now indicates that the CIA played a significant role in masterminding,
initiating and executing the riots.
The history leading up to the expulsion of Mosaddegh from power started much
earlier, at least fifty years before it happened. The story started on May 28th 1901, when Shah
Mozzafar of Persia ordered for an oil concession with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. It is
this company that later changed to the British Petroleum (Ferrier, 1982, p56). This set a
precedent for the British deals in petroleum from Persia. After thirteen years, the British
government entered into a contract with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, in which the British
government would pay for 51% of the company’s stock. This gave the government the upper
hand in the petroleum in Persia. This new change came as a result of the then British Prime
Minister, Winston Churchill changing the naval ships from being coal-run to oil-run, and
therefore necessitating a huge reserve for petroleum (Ferrier, 1982, p71). Within about thirty-
five years, Iran was source to at least 40% of all western oil and 75% of all oil in Europe.
However, in 1951, Mohammad Mosaddegh came to power in Persia, which had by
now become Iran. He became a democratically elected prime minister of Iran, to replace the
monarchical Shah, who had been placed in power by the western countries to protect their
interests. As soon as he came to power, Mosaddegh introduced a bill in parliament to
nationalize the oil and therefore use the profits made from the oil to build Iran (Dehghan,
2013, p3). His desire was in response to the several decades of Western influence which had
seen the APOC being in charge of the oil, and therefore depriving Iran of huge profits. These
proposed changes did not augur well with the British authorities who would soon lose their
grip to the oil, and therefore they began to strategize on how to prevent Mosaddegh from
nationalize the oil sector. It was a matter of days before the oil-nationalization issue placed
Mosaddegh in a conflicting situation with the British government (Gasiorowski, 2012, p671).
When this issue was brought to the International Court of Justice, the court threw the case
