In 1953, the Iranian Premier Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown in a coup d'etat.
The CIA and the British Special Intelligence Service involvement in the coup was one of
the Intelligence agencies worst kept secret but even so it's taken them 60 years to release
proper documents on it.
Between the CIA and SIS came up with a plan which was approved by Kermit Roosevelt, the
CIA's chief of the near East and Africa division and Allen Dulles, the agency's director at
the time.
Now there are a lot of reasons why the UK and US got into this but these are the two
main ones and they're kind of familiar.
Oil and commies.
As with many Western invasions of countries in the Middle East, oil played a big part
in the decision making.
Mohammad Mossadegh had nationalised Iran's oil industry in 1951, taking ownership from
the Anglo-Iranian oil company who later became BP.
Britain reacted to this by starting a global boycott of Iranian oil but then decided that
overthrowing the government was a better course of action.
In the new CIA documents it actually says by the end of 1952 it had become clear that
the Mossadegh government in Iran was incapable of reaching an oil settlement with interested
Western countries.
Then it goes on to say this about the coup, "Specifically the aim was to bring a government
which would reach an equitable oil settlement..."
Meanwhile Mossadegh had been getting cosy with the Communist Party of Iran and at that
start of the Cold War the allies didn't want a major Middle Eastern power falling behind
the iron curtain and siding with the Soviets and this is what the CIA documents have to
say about it.
They say the Iranian government was implementing irresponsible policies based on emotion and
had weakened the Shah.
They then specifically say that the aim of the project was to replace the government
with which one that could govern Iran according to constructive policies and by constructive
policies they mean yeh ones that we like yeh.
So once it was decided that getting rid of this radical lefty who didn't want to give
away his oil was the best plan of action then they just had to go through with it.
They began a propaganda campaign with US politicians making it clear that Iran wouldn't be getting
any economic aid from them.
Then they planted articles in the American press which would be reproduced in Iran.
They influenced the clergy in Tehrain and they used the BBC's Persian Service to advance
pro-western propaganda.
They informed General Zahedi, the man that they'd chosen to be the next Prime Minister
of the plan and the Shah himself.
They even went as far as to get the Shah's sister to influence him because he was known
for indecision.
He eventually agreed to it signing a document that replaced Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh
with General Zahedi.
A move was made to arrest Mossadegh but information was leaked and the arrest failed.
The Shah fled to Baghdad and then Rome, and Zahedi went in to CIA protection but they'd
planned for this.
The Shah made several declarations from exile that Zahedi was the legal political leader
and that propaganda campaign continued to discredit Mossadegh.
It all culminated on August 19th 1953 when CIA political action assets, as they're known,
helped stir up pro-Shah and anti-Mossadegh demonstrations making them look spontaneous.
Then the Iranian military were sent in to back the protesters and eventually Zahedi
came out of hiding and claimed the government.
Mossadegh was arrested and the Shah returned home from Rome to popular support.
That was that then, mission accomplished, except that over the next 26 years the Shah
and his Prime Minister's went about oppressing any political descent, especially the Communists
and the National Front and those associated with Mossadegh were rounded up, imprisoned,
or executed.
Over the next few years, thousands of political activists were arrested and SAVAK the secret
police who were trained by the US, systematically rounded up and tortured anyone who was suspected
of being a political dissident and they did it with brute force.
That was until 1979 when all the frustrated anti-Shah and anti-American sentiment finally
boiled over in the Islamic Revolution.
Of course most of you probably knew that the CIA were involved already but now it's official
and there are details in the document that are new to us and worth checking out so we'll
provide a link to them in the description and see you again soon.