Written by Edie Christian
The removal of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh was orchestrated and executed during the Anglo-American coup of 19 August 1953. Initially driven by the desire to protect British oil interests, the operation soon aimed to curtail Soviet influence in the region amidst the worsening global dynamics of the Cold War. As the “first peacetime use of covert action by the United States to overthrow a foreign government”, the 1953 coup both destabilised the Iranian political landscape and set a precedent for the expansion of American global influence. This foreign intervention has undeniably embittered US-Iranian relations, which culminated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution and remain distant today; Dr Roham Alvandi has described the coup as a “touchstone” of modern Iranian nationalism.
Although Iran was never formally colonised, foreign powers have tried to force and coerce Iran into concessions ever since the initial discovery of Iranian oil in 1908. The founding of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) in 1909 – renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) in 1935 – was a result of the 1901 D’Arcy concession, an agreement which gave businessman William Knox D’Arcy exclusive rights to explore for oil in Persia. The British control over oil became an increasingly contentious issue – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, became widely viewed as a puppet for British interests, due to his refusal to renegotiate. Following his election as Prime Minister by the Iranian Majlis (legislative body), Mosaddegh was confirmed as Prime Minister in 1951. He had primarily aligned himself with two main issues: “a desire to transfer political power from the royal court to the parliament […] and a desire to increase Iran’s control over its oil industry”. In March 1951, Mosaddegh’s nationalisation of the oil industry, as well as the cancellation of the oil concession, was legalised.
The nationalisation of oil deeply alarmed Western officials; Britain’s grip on its empire was already loosening, symbolised by the 1947 independence of India and Pakistan. The loss of the AIOC, of which the British government owned 50 per cent of the stock, would do detrimental damage to both the British economy and its international reputation; the British subsequently adopted a “three-track strategy designed to reestablish their control over Iran’s oil”. They first attempted arbitration through the International Court of Justice (ICJ), with several rejections from Mosaddegh leading the British to refuse to directly negotiate. The second strategy was the undermining of support for Mosaddegh through economic sanctions and military manoeuvres, which had evolved into a “full-fledged blockade” by the end of July. Their final strategy was the removal of Mosaddegh from his office through covert operation. During the 1940s, the US had largely viewed Iran as the responsibility of the British; however, the oil dispute, coupled with a severe recession and resurgence of the communist Tudeh party, led them to increase their presence by 1951. They did deliberate whether to intervene, but they ultimately sided with the British for fear of communist rule in Iran, whether from the Tudeh or the Soviet Union.
US foreign intervention throughout the Cold War largely follows the same pattern. The containment of communist ideology has historically been the official narrative and justification for the imperial control of resource-rich countries such as Iran. US officials stated that they had “no intention…of challenging Iran’s sovereignty”, with their actions solely intended to weaken the Soviet influence within the region. The key tactic in undermining the Soviet position lies in a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operation codenamed BEDAMN, which was a “propaganda and political action program run through a network headed by two Iranians” which “included both direct attacks on Soviet allies in Iran and so-called black operations designed to turn Iranians against the Tudeh.” The operations undertaken by these Iranian CIA agents, codenamed Nerren and Cilley, were fundamental in destabilising support for Mosaddegh. By 1953, the new Eisenhower administration was more aligned with the British position, and the CIA began preparations for the forceful removal of Mosaddegh. The success of the coup relied on the support of Iranian military officers and the Shah himself. An interesting facet of the coup was its reliance on public perception: Nerren and Cilley had hired a large crowd to shout Tudeh slogans and therefore provoke fears of a communist takeover. As well as this, rebels seized the Radio Tehran studio on 19 August, announcing the collapse of Mosaddegh’s government before it had occurred. Historian Siavush Randjbar-Daemi argues that “it was one of the most effective pieces of fake news in [the] recent history of the world”, as “after that radio broadcast, it was over.”
There is consensus among scholars that the foundations of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, in which the pro-Western Shah was replaced with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as the leader of the new Islamic Republic of Iran, lay in the 1953 Anglo-American coup. Although there was considerable Iranian involvement from actors such as Nerren and Cilley, military officers such as Fazlollah Zahedi, and the Shah himself, it is thought that the coup “could not have occurred at the time and in the manner it did without considerable US assistance”, particularly due to years of covert intelligence operations that had undermined support for Mosaddegh. Although the British were certainly fundamental in their formulation of the coup plan and providing of pro-Western networks within Iran, the 1979 revolution evolved from a protest against the Shah into a broader revolt against American ideals and influence. The revolution reflected a disillusionment with the Shah’s rule which stemmed from the growing authoritarianism, wealth disparities, and elite classes, all of which were viewed as a consequence of strengthening relations with and increasing influence of the US. Diplomatic relations between the US and Iran have been severed since 1980 following the 1979 hostage crisis, in which 66 Americans were taken hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran for 444 days. Relations remain formally severed to this day and have worsened following the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites during the 2025 Iran-Israel war.
The Anglo-American coup against Mohammad Mosaddegh must be seen not only as a pivotal moment in the shaping of Iranian politics, but also in their relations with the US and the West generally. The removal of a democratically elected government, which became a recurrent US tactic during the Cold War, sowed deep anti-American sentiment and sparked a wave of nationalism which ultimately culminated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. To this day, the estrangement between the US and Iran serves as a stark reminder of the impact of foreign intervention and neocolonial ambitions upon state sovereignty and international diplomacy. The impact of US influence on modern Iranian history is apparent; after the fall of Mosaddegh’s government, the Shah reportedly told Kermit Roosevelt Jr., an American intelligence officer instrumental in the coup, that “I owe my throne to God, my people, my army – and to you.”
Bibliography
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Carment, David. “D’Arcy, William Knox (1849–1917).” Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, n.d. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/darcy-william-knox-5882.
Gasiorowski, Mark J. “The 1953 Coup D’Etat in Iran.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 19, no. 3 (August 1987): 261–86. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020743800056737.
“Introduction.” In Nixon, Kissinger, and the Shah : The United States and Iran in the Cold War. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Sands, Leo. “The U.S. Helped Oust Iran’s Government in 1953. Here’s What Happened.” The Washington Post, June 19, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2025/06/19/iran-coup-1953-us-role/.
Featured image credit: “Qajar Era Mansion, Kashan, Iran” by A.Davey is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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