In 1953, Iran’s elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown in a coup backed by the United States and the United Kingdom, and the Shah’s monarchical rule was restored and strengthened. This event reshaped Iran’s politics and its relationship with the West for decades, and is still a major point of debate and resentment today.

Quick Scoop

What actually happened

  • On 19 August 1953, a coup d’état removed Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had come to power through Iran’s constitutional system and enjoyed strong popular support.
  • The coup, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup, toppled his government and installed General Fazlollah Zahedi as prime minister, while empowering Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to rule more autocratically.

Why it happened

  • Mosaddegh had nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), ending British control over Iran’s oil and triggering a fierce confrontation with the UK, which then sought U.S. help to remove him.
  • U.S. and British officials framed the coup as necessary to contain communism and prevent Iran from drifting toward the Soviet orbit, citing fears about the influence of the leftist Tudeh Party, though oil and strategic interests were central.

How the coup was carried out

  • The operation was run by U.S. and British intelligence under code names TP-AJAX/Operation Ajax (CIA) and Operation Boot (MI6), combining covert propaganda, bribery of politicians and clerics, and manipulation of street protests.
  • CIA-linked operatives and hired strongmen organized pro-Shah crowds and violent demonstrations in Tehran; army units then moved against Mosaddegh’s supporters, and the fighting left scores to hundreds of people dead.

What changed after 1953

  • After the coup, the Shah returned from a brief exile and consolidated power, ruling with increasing authoritarianism and relying heavily on U.S. political, financial, and security support.
  • Western oil companies regained access to Iranian oil under a new consortium arrangement, with U.S. firms now taking a major share, while many Iranians saw this as proof that the coup had sacrificed democracy for foreign interests.

Why people still talk about it

  • Many historians, Iranian activists, and commentators view 1953 as a turning point that undermined Iran’s democratic development and helped set the stage for the 1979 Islamic Revolution and enduring anti-Western sentiment.
  • Online discussions and forum debates today often argue over how “democratic” pre-coup Iran really was and how much blame lies with foreign powers versus Iran’s own internal divisions, but there is broad agreement that foreign intervention decisively tipped the balance against Mosaddegh.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.