How The CIA Overthrew Iran's Democracy In 4 Days

Just recently NPR posted an article and pod cast that explained the US CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) involvement in the overthrow of Iran’s democracy in 1953. At a time when our idiot President Donald Trump is brining us closer to war with Iran, it is important for people to understand why the relationship between Iran and the US has been so bad.        

In 1951 The Iranians voted in Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. He was the 35th prime minister of Iran. But the US did not like Mossadegh. He was a nationalist and he was not the kind of leader the US wanted in Iran. So in 1953 the CIA engineered a coup against Mossadegh. And who did they chose to replace him? They chose Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. He was a monarch and a tyrant. He was never elected. Once he was restored to the thrown and Iran’s democratic system was brought to an end, the US made sure the Shah stayed in a position of leadership. He was not a popular leader. According to Wikipedia:

The reign of Reza Shah was authoritarian and dictatorial at a time when authoritarian governments and dictatorships were common in the region and the world^[8] and Universal Declaration of Human Rights was some years in the future.

Freedom of the press, workers' rights, and political freedoms were restricted under Reza Shah. Independent newspapers were closed down, political parties—even the loyal Revival party were banned. The government banned all trade    unions in 1927, and arrested 150 labor organizers between 1927 and 1932.^[9]

Physical force was used against some kinds of prisoners — common criminals, suspected spies, and those accused of plotting regicide. Burglars in particular were subjected to the bastinado (beating the soles of the feet), and the strappado (suspended in the air by means of a rope tied around the victims arms) to "reveal their hidden loot". Suspected spies and assassins were "beaten, deprived of sleep, and subjected to the qapani" (the binding of arms tightly behind the back) which sometimes caused a joint to crack. But for political prisoners — who were primarily Communists — there was a "conspicuous absence of torture" under Reza Shah's rule.^[10] The main form of pressure was solitary confinement and the withholding of "books, newspapers, visitors, food packages, and proper medical care". While often threatened with the qapani, political prisoners "were rarely subjected to it

 At one time Human rights groups had accused the Shah of having at least 100,000 political prisoners. So the US had replaced a democratic system with a complete dictatorship. This was a major reason that the revolution of 1979 took place. When the Iranian revolution began there were several political factions struggling for power, including a number of Marxist-Leninist and Maoist parties. The conservative Islamic leaders won power once they had control they viciously attacked all the leftist, running them either underground or liquidating them all together. While the Islamic government forced everyone in Iran to support Islam, it has provided a very limited democracy, which is slightly more democratic than the Shah was. The following information is something all Americans need to understand before they allow Trump to drag us into war we simply don’t need at all. There is no justification for such a war and the following story will explain why so many Iranians do not trust the US. –SJ Otto

On Aug. 19, 2013, the CIA publicly admitted for the first time its involvement in the 1953 coup against Iran's elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.

The documents provided details of the CIA's plan at the time, which was led by senior officer Kermit Roosevelt Jr., the grandson of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Over the course of four days in August 1953, Roosevelt would orchestrate not one, but two attempts to destabilize the government of Iran, forever changing the relationship between the country and the U.S. In this episode, we go back to retrace what happened in the inaugural episode of NPR's new history podcast, Throughline.

Mohammad Mossadegh was a beloved figure in Iran. During his tenure, he introduced a range of social and economic policies, the most significant being the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry. Great Britain had controlled Iran's oil for decades through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. After months of talks the prime minister broke off negotiations and denied the British any further involvement in Iran's oil industry. Britain then appealed to the United States for help, which eventually led the CIA to orchestrate the overthrow of Mossadegh and restore power to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.

For the rest click here.

Pictured above is Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.