Protests, CIA's Coup & $5 Million: How US Changed Regime In Iran In 1953 Explained
The 1953 Iran coup: Years after Iranian PM Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown, a declassified CIA document revealed how the agency was involved in it
In the Israel-Iran conflict, US President Donald Trump has joined hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has been repeatedly exerting pressure on Iran, even mentioning the possibility of ouster of Tehran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranians, however, are not new to the United States (US) enforcing a regime change in their country.
In 1953, the US helped stage a coup to overthrow Iran's democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
Why?
Mossadegh wanted to nationalise the country's oil fields, which would hit the US and Great Britain, which were dependent on oil from the Middle East. The move gained popularity in Iran and was seen as victory for the then-USSR.
The coup was meant to support Iran's monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to rule as Shah of Iran, and appoint a new prime minister – General Fazlollah Zahedi.
The independent National Security Archive research institute had published the document. The the declassification marked the CIA's first formal acknowledgment of its involvement.
The documents were declassified in 2011 and given to George Washington University research group under the Freedom of Information Act.
WHAT THE DOCUMENTS SHOWED
According to a CNN report, the documents showed that the CIA, along with the British Secret Intelligence Service, organised large protests against Mossadegh in 1953, which the Army eventually joined.
To offer some stability to Zahedi, the CIA made $5,000,000 available within two days of him taking power. The Shah was an ally of the US. However, unhappy with the interference, the anti-American sentiment kept growing in the country.
In the late 1970s, millions of Iranians took to the streets against his regime, which they viewed as corrupt and illegitimate.
The Shah was toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution, which ended the country's western-backed monarchy and ushered in the start of the Islamic Republic and clerical rule.
Thus began the rule of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a Shia cleric, as the Supreme Leader, the highest authority in the new system based on Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist). After Khomeini's death, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became the Supreme Leader of Iran on June 4, 1989.
2025: US SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
Israel wants the US to join the conflict and use its unique military edge and weaponry, such as the GBU-57 bunker-busting bomb, to destroy the Iranian nuclear complex at Fordow, which is buried deep underground. The general opinion is that Israel can delay the programme, but only the US can destroy it.
The US has bolstered its military presence in the Middle East, deploying over 31 refueling aircraft to Europe and redirecting the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to the region. The move is to enhance air power and ensure protection of American assets amid the intensifying conflict.
Trump has warned Tehran's residents to ' evacuate", signaling a readiness for more direct involvement if necessary.
On Monday evening, the president wrote on Truth Social that 'IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON". He has also clearly said that 'Iran cannot win this war".
Trump refused to sign a draft joint statement prepared by G7 leaders calling for a de-escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran. The US President, however, vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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Meanwhile, in a sign that Iran did not want US involvement, it has not directly targeted US bases or personnel, nor has it widened the conflict, by going after shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
With CNN Inputs
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