CIA-Backed Coup Overthrows Iran's Nationalist Prime Minister

On August 19, 1953, a CIA-backed coup led by US and British intelligence services overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh's democratically elected government in Iran. The coup was aimed at preventing Mosaddegh from nationalizing Iran's oil industry, which would have given the country control over its own resources.

Mosaddegh had introduced a bill to parliament in 1951 to nationalize Iran's oil industry, attacking British oil companies operating in the country. This move brought him into conflict with pro-Western elites and Iran's dictator, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

The CIA and British intelligence worked together to engineer a plot against Mosaddegh, using deadly riots in Tehran as a pretext for his arrest. The US government later acknowledged its role in the coup, releasing classified documents that showed it was involved in both planning and executing the coup.