US and UK Coup Against Iran's Mosaddegh in 1953 Still Haunts Region Today

The 1953 Iranian coup d'état was a pivotal event in the history of Iran and the Middle East, orchestrated by the US and UK to overthrow the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. The main reason behind this coup was the nationalization of Iran's oil industry, which Mosaddegh had introduced in 1951 as part of his government's social and political measures.

Mosaddegh's nationalization policy brought him into conflict with the pro-Western elites of Iran and its dictator, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The UK opposed this move, and London could not tolerate Mosaddegh's control over Iran's oil resources. The CIA and British intelligence services began to engineer a plot against Mossadegh, which eventually led to his arrest in August 1953.

The coup was carried out 'under CIA direction' and 'as an act of US foreign policy,' with the agency acknowledging its role in bribing Iranian politicians, security officials, and army high-ranking officials. Hundreds of Iranians were killed in the aftermath of the coup, and Mosaddegh was sentenced to three years in jail and then placed under house arrest for the rest of his life.