CIA-Backed Coup in Iran: How Mossadegh's Nationalization Led to a Multi-Million Dollar Operation

In the aftermath of World War II, Iran's Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh nationalized the country's oil deposits, sparking a chain reaction that would lead to a CIA-backed coup. The United States and Great Britain, concerned by Iran's attempts to establish relations with the USSR, joined forces to overthrow Mossadegh's government.

The plan was hatched in 1953, with CIA Director Walter Smith submitting a report to the National Security Council on March 20 of that year. The CIA allocated $19 million for bribery and other expenses, which is equivalent to around $230 million today. Kermit Roosevelt, grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, led the operation as chief of the CIA's Middle East department.

The coup was carried out in August 1953, with General Fazlollah Zahedi leading a group of Iranian military monarchists and ultra-Islamist underground activists. Mossadegh's government was overthrown, and a new regime was installed.