US aggression towards Iran dates back to the 1953 coup, Iranian FM spokesperson says
PHOTO: THE GUARDIAN
The political tensions between Iran and the United States didn't begin in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution, but rather with the British and US-backed coup against former Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953, says Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baaqei on X.
He posted a statement late Tuesday night marking the birth anniversary of Mossadegh, saying, "Today, 19 May (29 Ordibehesht), marks the birthday of Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh, the famed Iranian prime minister whose government was violently overthrown in a coup engineered and backed by the United States and UK, solely for his unwavering defense of Iran’s national interests, his fierce resistance to foreign domination, and his refusal to allow the plunder of Iran’s national resources."
“American officials repeatedly speak of ‘47 years’ of confrontation with Iran. This is a deliberate distortion of history; the US hostility toward the Iranian nation did not begin in 1979 — it began in 1953. For more than 73 years, the Iranian people have endured a long record of American intervention, sanctions, threats, and military aggression,” Baqaei said.
“Revisiting Dr Mosaddegh’s legacy and the 1953 Anglo-American coup delivers a clear and timeless lesson: the only true path to national dignity, sovereignty, and sustainable progress is resolute insistence on sovereign rights and political independence,” he said.
Today, 19 May (29 Ordibehesht), marks the birthday of Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh, the famed Iranian Prime Minister whose government was violently overthrown in a coup engineered and backed by the United States and UK, solely for his unwavering defense of Iran’s national interests,… pic.twitter.com/nHg4rXBoUl
In 1951, Mosaddegh became Iran's prime minister on a wave of popular support, having spearheaded the nationalisation of Iran's oil industry, which had been dominated by the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Tasnim news agency wrote. It was renamed the British Petroleum Company, one of the antecedents of the modern BP public limited company.
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The company had been paying Iran as little as 16% of profits, and Mosaddegh's move to reclaim national control made him a celebrated figure in Iranian history. According to the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST), Britain, unable to reverse the nationalisation alone, sought American support. The US under president Truman initially resisted, but when Eisenhower took office in 1953, Washington became receptive to British and Churchill's pressure.
The two countries jointly devised Operation Ajax, a plot to remove Mosaddegh by persuading the Shah to issue a dismissal decree. CIA operatives also manufactured the impression that Mosaddegh was cracking down on religious dissent, turning clergy against him.
On 16 August 1953, the Shah formally dismissed Mosaddegh and installed General Fazlollah Zahedi, the CIA's preferred choice, as prime minister. Engineered street riots followed, completing the coup. Mosaddegh was convicted of treason by a military court, served three years in solitary confinement, and died under house arrest in 1967.
Manufacturing dissent and chaos through staged protests to incite regime change isn't a new strategy for the West, as seen in the latest New York Times report that the initial goal of the current war against Iran was to place former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power after the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28.