|
In May of this year, during his speech at Cairo University, President Obama became the first sitting US president to openly admit that the US had a hand in the overthrow of the Iranian government on August 19th, 1953. What Mr. Obama failed to mention was that the US didn’t just have a hand in Operation AJAX; it was the main player and beneficiary of that operation. Thus, August 19th, 1953 became one of the darkest days in modern Iranian history.
Oil was discovered in Iran in the early part of the 20th century and was under British control through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Britain’s largest overseas investment. Most Iranians were resentful of British control over their most prized natural resource and also of Britain’s long history of interference in Iran’s domestic affairs. After the defeat of Fascism and Japanese militarism and the end of the Second World War, cracks began to appear in the body of the old empires: namely, the British and the French. People in many countries rose up against colonialism and the people of Iran, with their rich history and experience in struggle against domestic tyranny and foreign domination, became the vanguard of this movement in the Middle East. This movement, pushing for complete independence, democracy and economic equality, was headed by secular nationalist and leftist forces; namely, the Tudeh Party. With popular pressure and against the wishes of the Shah, Dr. Mossadegh, who was known as a very honest politician and consequently one of the most popular ones, became the prime minister of Iran in early 1951. The Shah despised him because Mossadegh believed in a parliamentary democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and was against the corruption, cronyism, and dictatorial tendencies and actions of the Shah, his family, and his court.
Under the leadership of Dr. Mossadegh the oil industry was nationalized and the British monopoly ended in 1951. This drew the wrath of the British Empire. Britain quickly moved and began a worldwide embargo on the sale of Iranian oil. Iranian assets were frozen and the British navy made aggressive and threatening moves in the Persian Gulf. A British spy network that was carrying out subversive operations was uncovered. Mossadegh’s government, angry at the British for their actions, threats, and interference, severed all diplomatic relations with the Empire. Both the United Nations and the International Court at The Hague voted in favor of Iran in the dispute with Britain over the nationalization of oil.
Britain was in a much weaker position internationally after the devastation of the Second World War. The United States was the only allied power, whose mainland was untouched by war, and had come out of that catastrophe in a much stronger position. Therefore, the United States began to assert itself as the global hegemon and began to fill the vacuum created by the collapsing empires. Britain, having almost no network and influence in Iran, approached the US to plan the overthrow of Mossadegh’s government. President Truman was reluctant to move against Mossadegh, thinking that his government would be an ally against the Soviet Union. But when Eisenhower became president in 1952, the new US government showed outright hostility toward anti-colonial movements and national liberation struggles. Its aim was to preserve US strategic global hegemony, and safeguard US business interests. Thus the new administration agreed to get rid of Mossadegh’s government. The official line was to prevent Iran from falling into “Soviet hands.” But the true reason was to crush the democratic movement in Iran, which was threatening both the US and British interests and inspiring other nations in the region to rise up. The US government wanted the US oil companies to have a share of Iran’s lucrative oil resources and have a regime in Iran that will do its bidding and safeguard its strategic goals in the Middle East. The Shah was the best candidate for this grand plan.
The CIA, headed by Allen Dulles, went to work and chose the name AJAX for the operation. The chief agent in charge of the operation was Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. (The grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt). Another operative included General Schwarzkopf (The father of the US commander during the first Gulf War). The CIA convinced the Shah that Mossadegh could be overthrown and then it started to recruit members of the Iranian military, journalists, clergy, and thugs and prostitutes to carry out the operation. The CIA hired General Zahedi to replace Dr. Mossadegh as prime minister. General Zahedi had a shady background. He was a Nazi sympathizer during World War II and was arrested and imprisoned by the British because of his pro-Hitler activities in Iran. The CIA, through its recruits in the newspapers, published articles accusing Mossadegh of mismanagement, corruption, and aspirations of becoming a dictator. Other published articles lied about the aims and the strength of the Tudeh Party, hoping to create an anti-Communist atmosphere. Recruited clergy gave sermons about Mossadegh not being a Muslim and committing treason against the Shah. In the months and the days leading up to the coup, the CIA and its Iranian agents went as far as staging demonstrations and attacks on mosques in the name of the Tudeh Party. The overall plan was to create confusion, instability, and chaos in the society at large; so that when the opportunity arrived the military would strike and present itself as the savior of the nation and the crown.
To be continued...
|
