Trump and Iran Protests: 1953 Coup’s Lingering Shadow
On a bright winter afternoon, protesters marched down the leafy streets of a college neighbourhood in the west of Los Angeles.
Green, white and red flashed among the hundreds-strong crowd, the colours of Iran’s flag.
On this day, though, the flags bore the Lion and Sun, a symbol used until the 1979 revolution, when the last shah was ousted.
The group had gathered to call for a regime change in Iran, supporting the ongoing protests occurring within the country itself.
Images of Reza Pahlavi – the exiled son of Iran’s last shah – and of US President Donald Trump, who promised to “get involved” if the Iranian government killed protesters, were held up among the flags.
Many among the Los Angeles crowd urged the president to do just that.
Within a moment, the scene turned to chaos.
As the group walked down Veteran Avenue in Westwood, a moving truck barrelled down the road, sending marchers scrambling to the footpaths.
As the truck came to a stop in the middle of an intersection, protesters battered the vehicle’s sides wiht flag poles while others climbed atop the vehicle.
Videos recorded from every angle captured messages on the side of the truck,revealing the driver’s intention:
“NO SHAH.NO REGIME. USA: DON’T REPEAT 1953. NO MULLAH.“
In 1941, Iran initially declared Iran neutral, fearing British and Soviet ambitions in the country while opposing Germany’s race-based ideologies.
But as Germany advanced into the USSR in 1941, Soviet and British forces occupied Iran, citing the shah’s refusal to expel German nationals.
On September 11, Britain began working to have Reza Shah deposed in favour of his pro-British son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Five days later, Reza Shah abdicated and went into exile.
But even after British troops pulled out in 1946, Iran was uneasy.
Debate brewed over control of the oil fields – should the British be allowed to continue extracting oil? Should the Soviet Union get a slice? Or should the country move to end foreign influence altogether?
Elected prime minister in March 1951, Mohammed Mossadegh promptly set about wresting back control of Iran’s oil fields.
Iranian prime minister Mohammed mossadegh nationalised his country’s oil market in 1951. (Getty Images: Bettmann Collection )
The shah, who had regularly intervened in parliamentary activity to appease his British allies, was concerned that blocking the Nationalisation Ac
By 1952, Iran was producing just 20,000 barrels per day – a fraction of the 664,000-barrel average in 1950.
What little was produced sold poorly on the international market due to a devastatingly effective British embargo.
An estimated 80,000 Iranians were put out of work and the Iranian government faced bankruptcy.
All the while, support for mossadegh was waning both among the public and his own cabinet.
The leader became increasingly autocratic, relying on emergency powers to rule.
A coup d’etat goes awry
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The US initially turned down calls by the UK to directly intervene, except for a few even-handed efforts to resolve the dispute.
President Harry Truman had initially been sympathetic to Iran’s nationalist aspirations.
The US set out to install a pro-Western government in Iran under a CIA-led operation. (National Security Archive)
The mission would be carried out by the CIA under the direction of agency operative Kermit roosevelt Jr – former President Theodore Roosevelt’s grandson – though British intelligence agents made up part of the team.
Persian media was flooded with propaganda, from planted articles in existing outlets to the sudden appearance of six new anti-Mossadegh newspapers in Tehran.
Leaders of some political parties were paid to stage protests and stir public disorder.
Roosevelt’s team and Zahedi’s allies lobbied high-ranking military officers and other high-profile Iranians to participate in, or or else support, a coup.
The shah initially resisted the coup plans but was ultimately convinced when the CIA threatened that he, too, would be deposed.
CIA officers drafted two royal decrees that dismissed Mossadegh and appointed Zahedi.
The shah signed them both on August 16 and fled to northern Iran, and later, to Baghdad and then Italy.
Zahedi came out of hiding and, by 2.30 in the afternoon,claimed to be the only legitimate prime minister,and went on to officially replace Mosaddegh.
He immediately sent a telegram to Mohammad Reza, inviting him back to the country, and soon after, sent a second to Eisenhower, asking for financial aid.
The US answered the call.
1953 Iranian Coup: A Legacy of Resentment and Revolution
The 1953 coup d’état in iran, orchestrated by the United States and the United Kingdom, remains a pivotal event shaping the nation’s political trajectory and its relationship with the West. The operation, known as Operation Ajax, toppled the democratically elected Prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and reinstated the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to power.
mosaddegh had nationalized Iran’s oil industry in 1951,challenging the dominance of the Anglo-Iranian oil Company – now known as BP – and seeking greater control over the country’s natural resources. According to research published in the International Journal of Middle East Studies, this move threatened Western economic interests and fueled anxieties about Soviet influence in the region.
The Planning and Execution of Operation Ajax
The U.S. Central intelligence Agency (CIA) and the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) collaborated to plan and execute the coup.Declassified CIA documents released by the National Security Archive detail the agency’s involvement, including propaganda campaigns, bribery of Iranian officials and military officers, and the instigation of public unrest.
The coup unfolded over several days in August 1953, with pro-Shah forces and mobs instigated by the CIA taking to the streets. Mosaddegh was arrested on August 19th, and the Shah returned to Iran from exile.
Long-Term Consequences
Historians widely agree that the 1953 coup had far-reaching consequences for Iran.It suppressed the country’s burgeoning democratic movement and paved the way for the Shah’s increasingly authoritarian rule. As reported by Reuters, many historians link the coup directly to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the monarchy and established a theocratic government.
The coup also led to a consortium of foreign companies gaining control of Iran’s oil fields. While this increased the country’s revenue beyond pre-nationalization levels,it ended Iran’s sovereign control over its own resources.
The legacy of Operation Ajax continues to fuel anti-American sentiment in Iran and remains a meaningful factor in the complex relationship between the two countries.