The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has repeatedly intervened in the internal affairs of Iran, from the Mosaddegh coup of 1953 to the present day. The CIA is said to have collaborated with the last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. According to a classified report by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the CIA also played a key role in the formation of SAVAK, Iran’s secret police during the last Shah's regime. The agency provided funding and training to assist the Shah in establishing the organization. Its personnel may have also been involved in the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s.

Mosaddegh coup

Background In the early 1900s, Iran's Imperial Leader awarded British businesses exclusive property rights to what would eventually become one of the world's greatest oil reserves. British investment established the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, known today as British Petroleum (BP), and in 1913, the British government purchased a majority of the stake in the partnership. By 1920, approximately 1.5 million tons of oil extracted by the Anglo-Persian oil firm yielded tremendous profits for the British, but Iran earned only 16% in royalty fees. For Mohammed Mosaddegh and many Iranians alike, the international dealings with Iran’s oil wealth were deemed exploitative. In the early 1940s, Mossadegh garnered support to champion the cause of Iranian “Self Determination.” In 1943, this charge was central in securing his election to parliament.

By 1950, 40% of U.S. and 75% of European oil was produced in Iran. In 1951, the drive for control of Iranian Oil wealth intensified with the election of Mosaddegh as the Prime Minister. As a leader of the House, he supervised and participated in the parliamentary vote that would nationalize the oil industry of Iran, thus giving them a reasonable stake in it. This move was inspired by similar oil-producing countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia who earned 50% from their relative oil profit. To the West and the CIA in particular, such development was attributed to Mosaddegh’s quest for personal power, governing with irresponsible, emotional policies, in detriment to the Shah and the Iranian Army.

Oil nationalization and Western response By the end of the year 1952, it had become clear that the Mosaddegh government threatened the interests of the Western countries while gradually leaning towards the Soviets. Britain protested Mosaddegh's actions in the UN court but lost their case. In a further affront to the Mosaddegh regime, the British government imposed heavy economic sanctions and embargoes on Iranian oil, while also succeeding in halting trade between Iran and neighboring countries, like Saudi Arabia. Despite these hardships, Mosaddegh refused to abandon his stance.

In 1952, Britain approached the U.S. with a plan for a coup and pressed to mount a joint operation, to remove the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh and install the autocratic Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi to rule Iran. Representatives of British Intelligence met with CIA representatives in Washington, November and December of that year, to discuss battle and stay-behind plans in Iran. Although it was not on the posted agenda of the meeting, British Intelligence representatives proposed action to remove Prime Minister Mosaddegh. However, with Harry Truman as U.S. president, his administration was neither ready to start a new conflict nor join the British Secret Intelligence Services (SIS) in removing Mosaddeqh from office. The U.S. position at the time was, the democratic Mosaddegh was the best deterrent to communist influence in Iran.

With Eisenhower becoming president in January 1953, fearing a possible alliance between Iran and the Soviet Union, such a joint operation between the CIA and ISS seemed possible.

Plan Y was an operation that would have consisted of a three-part attack. These three parts would involve an assault on land, air, and sea. Britain attempted to seek aid from the United States under the Truman administration, but the U.S. declined since any armed military aggression could lead to an open conflict with the Soviet Union. In March 1953, the CIA began to draft a plan to overthrow Mosaddegh, called Operation AJAX which later became the TRAJAX.

Plotting The Coup Planning the operation

On April 4, 1953, the CIA approved a $1 million budget for a covert operation to remove Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh.PDF A planning study completed on April 16 concluded that cooperation between the Shah and General Fazlollah Zahedi, supported by CIA funding and local contacts, could succeed by encouraging public unrest and weakening military support for Mosaddegh. U.S. officials also cited concerns about the influence of the communist Tudeh Party, the Soviet Union and Western oil interests.

The operation was based on a British proposal known as Plan Y and was renamed Operation Ajax (TPAJAX). Brigadier General Norman Schwarzkopf Sr. and CIA officer Kermit Roosevelt Jr. were assigned key roles. On June 22, CIA officials George Carroll and Donald Wilber were tasked with planning the military and psychological components. The operation received approval from the U.S. State Department and the British Foreign Office in mid-July 1953 and was coordinated through the US Embassy in Tehran.

Operation Ajax aimed to remove Mosaddegh, restore the Shah’s authority, and install a new government led by Zahedi. The plan focused on four elements: a propaganda campaign against Mosaddegh, efforts to create internal unrest, pressure on the Shah to appoint a new prime minister, and support for Zahedi as Mosaddegh’s replacement.

To secure the Shah’s cooperation, U.S. and British officials worked through his twin sister, Princess Ashraf, using a series of meetings to reassure him of Western support and obtain his formal approval for Zahedi’s appointment.

Propaganda and psychological operations

The CIA prepared and released propaganda to undermine Mosaddegh's political position. One of these, called "Mosaddeq’s Spy Service", claimed that Mosaddegh had built up an extensive spy service of his own to bolster himself as dictator. Another piece, titled "Our National Character," claimed that Mosaddegh's alliance with the Tudeh Party was "corrupting the character of the Iranian people." Furthermore, an internal CIA memo entitled "Campaign to Install Pro-Western Government In Iran" specifies that one of the CIA's main goals in Iran was to "disenchant the Iranian population with the myth of Mossadeq's patriotism, by exposing his collaboration with the Communists and his manipulation of constitutional authority to serve his own personal ambitions for power."

Execution of Operation Ajax

Operation Ajax was put into motion the following year in June, starting with the arrival of key figures, such as Norman Schwarzkopf and Kermit Roosevelt, into Iran. This was a covert operation with the goal of removing Mosaddegh, and then reinstating Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In the leadup to the operation's execution, officials such as Kermit Roosevelt met with the Shah to discuss the plan and prepare propaganda. However, the operation was initially unsuccessful after the soldiers sent to dismiss Mosaddegh on August 15, 1953, were stopped before the operation could move forward. According to Donald Wilber, one of the CIA operatives who planned the coup and wrote the CIA history on the operation, there were conflicting reports on what occurred that day and how the operation was unable to be completed. The statement released by Mosaddegh's group claimed that the soldiers had been arrested by his personal guards. Kermit Roosevelt, the grandson of former President Theodore Roosevelt, and head of CIA operations in the Middle East; with the cooperation of the Department of State, had articles planted in the United States but when reproduced in Iran, it had psychological effects in Iran and contributed to the coup. With Mosaddegh resisting British pressure, the United States entered the conflict, lured by the prospect of controlling a greater portion of Iran's oil supplies. Mosaddegh's reputation was damaged by propaganda campaigns that incorrectly associated him with communism and denigrated the Iranian people. An attempt to overthrow the democratically elected leader was set in motion.

A notable, effective cause for public unease with Mosaddegh's leadership was the letter that President Eisenhower sent him in response to his call to the U.S. for economic aid, due to not agreeing to the British oil deal. Eisenhower writes "The failure of Iran and of the United Kingdom to reach an agreement with regard to compensation has handicapped the Government of the United States in its efforts to help Iran." According to CIA reports, this succeeded in weakening Mosaddegh's position and turned the media, the Parliament, and the populace against him. The CIA also increased their propaganda campaign to link Mosaddegh to communists, with Kermit Roosevelt paying a group of people to act as a mob supporting the Tudeh party and Mosaddegh, rioting in Tehran. This was done after the first failed coup attempt and used the rising tensions following the aftermath to create unrest to support the second attempt. In an attempt at a second coup, the CIA began to bribe the army and police officials. For Zahedi to receive the financial assistance he badly needed, the CIA made 5 million dollars available within two days of Zahedi's assumption of power. After several attempts and over 7 million dollars were spent, operations to overthrow Mosaddegh were completed Zahedi immediately implemented martial law and began executing nationalist leaders. Zahedi had accomplished this by coming out of hiding from the U.S. Embassy and immediately drove to the nearest radio station to publicly announce his takeover. This ensued with the Imperial Guards launching the assault on Mosaddegh's house with tanks, artillery, and bazookas. Mosaddegh again had fled over the back wall of his house, escaping death again. Mosaddegh was spared from execution by serving 3 years in solitary confinement and after he remained on house arrest until his death.

Aftermath

The Coup in Iran was the CIA's first successful coup operation. Mosaddegh was removed from power and Iran's oil shares were split amongst the British, French, and United States for a 25-year agreement in which Iran would earn 50% of the oil profits. Britain earned 40% of the oil shares, the Dutch Oil Company, Shell received 14%, French CFP received 6%, and the United States received the remaining 40%. Quickly following the removal of Mosaddegh in 1953, the U.S. installed a pro-U.S. dictator, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Over the next decades, the Shah increased the economic strength of Iran but he also repressed political dissent. He accomplished this through the use of a secret police force known as the SAVAK, which was created with the support of the CIA and Mossad. The Shah was accused by many of trying to get rid of Islam, even though the country's population was over 90% Muslim. This eventually led to the rise of political Islam in Iran.The Crisis of Secular Politics and the Rise of Political Islam in Iran by Ali Mirsepassi-Ashtiani Social Text No. 38 (Spring, 1994), pp. 51-84 Published by: Duke University Press In a speech on March 17, 2000, before the American Iranian Council on the relaxation of U.S. sanctions against Iran, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said: "In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mosaddegh. As the CIA's first successful coup, Operation Ajax left Iran with a resentment for the U.S. that would lead directly to conflicts such as the Iran hostage crisis. The aftershocks of these events continue to influence Iran's political and cultural landscape today.

Overthrow of Premier Mosaddegh of Iran (Memo)