Marking the CIA's 1953 Iran Coup: All Is Not 'Yet' Forgiven (FARS News Agency, Iran)

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Marking the CIA's 1953 Iran Coup: All Is Not 'Yet' Forgiven (FARS News Agency, Iran)

It may seem remote to most Americans and the U.S. media, but the CIA-backed coup against Iran's democratically-elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, at the instigation of British oil interests, continues to complicate relations between the United States and Britain on one side, and Iran on the other. Indeed, it is reasonable to wonder whether the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran would have ever taken place if not for the coup that put the much-hated Shah back on his throne. This editorial from Iran's state-run FARS News Agency outlines the lingering suspicions which began on August 19, 1953.

EDITORIAL

August 24, 2015

Islamic Republic of Iran - FARS News Agency – Original Article (English)

TEHRAN: Iran is marking the August 19 anniversary of the 1953 coup against the then-democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq. The coup anniversary also marks America's first Middle East intervention.

In August 1953, British and American intelligence initiated the coup, led by CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt, grandson of former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.

Through libel and orchestrated riots, the CIA and British undermined Mosaddeq's government. Agents posing as communists threatened religious leaders, while the U.S. ambassador lied to Mosaddeq about alleged attacks on American nationals. In the streets of Tehran some 300 people died in firefights. Mosaddeq was overthrown and sentenced to three years in prison to have been followed by house arrest for life.

Prime Minister Mosaddeq had played a key role in the 1951 movement which resulted in the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry, which had been controlled by British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil, known today as BP. What came out of the coup was that on paper, the oil industry remained nationalized, but in fact it was held by a consortium within which Britain retained more than 50 percent control and the U.S., 40 percent.

Lest there be any doubt, the 1953 coup was also designed to make certain that Iran's monarchy would safeguard Anglo-American interests in the region. Over the years, with significant amounts of American money and a U.S.-backed security apparatus, the Shah repressed his own people and maintained a favorable climate for U.S. corporate interests in Iran and beyond.

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SEE ALSO ON THE COUP:

Islamic Republic Broadcasting, Iran: Why was the U.S. Embassy in Tehran Captured in 1978?

Kayhan, Iran: The Storming of the U.S. Embassy: 'A Day that Shook the World'

Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran: Obama Follows Eisenhower’s Iran Coup Playbook

Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany: To Make Up With Iran, U.S. Must Fess Up to 1953 Coup

Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany: The CIA-Backed Coup that Obama Failed to Mention

Fars News Agency, Iran: Supreme Leader Responds to Obama's Message to Iranians

Press TV, Iran: Ayatollah Khamenei Says America Must Apologize for 1953 Coup

E'etemad, Iran: End the 'Political Excitement'; Begin the 'Political Wisdom'

Six decades later, in what may have been a gesture of contrition, the CIA finally admitted to its role in the coup, but all is not yet forgiven in Tehran. For the U.S. it may be ancient history, but for Iranians it is not.

The crushing of Iran's first democratic government ushered in more than two decades of dictatorship under a Shah [Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi] who relied heavily on American aid and arms. The anti-American backlash known as the Islamic Revolution, which toppled the Shah in 1979, shook the entire region and helped disseminate Islamic awakening.

The aftershocks of the coup are still being felt, and it is one of the reasons Iranians are so suspicious of Britain and the United States. This is history they never taught in [American and British] schools.

In March 2000, then-U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright admitted that, "the coup was clearly a setback for Iran's political development. And it is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs."

By steering international organizations like the U.N. Security Council, the U.N. Human Rights Council and the European Union, Washington continues to pursue its anti-Iran policy. There are other issues as well.

Chiefly, the campaign of Iranophobia in Western media and the terrorist group ISIL, created by Washington and its allies to split Iraq and Syria - Iran’s closest allies. (And those who still have the least doubt about this fact should click here.)

Against this backdrop, Tehran's great hesitance about the results of its nuclear deal with Washington is quite understandable.

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