The CIA-MI6 backed coup overthrows Mosaddegh

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi signed decrees dismissing Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and appointing General Fazlollah Zahedi. Supporters of Mosaddegh regarded the move as an unconstitutional attempt...

Royal Guard commander Nematollah Nasiri delivered the dismissal order and attempted to seize the prime minister, but loyal forces arrested him and the first coup attempt failed.

Officials loyal to the elected government secured key locations in Tehran. For later revolutionaries, this episode showed that royal authority depended on military and foreign support.

After the failed first coup attempt, the Shah left for Baghdad and then Rome. Crowds and political activists initially interpreted his departure as a victory for constitutional government.

Following the Shah’s flight, protesters removed royal statues and called for an end to monarchical intervention in government.

Control of broadcasting allowed coup leaders to announce that Zahedi was prime minister and encourage military units to join the overthrow.

Tanks and armed crowds assaulted the prime minister’s home. Mosaddegh escaped temporarily before surrendering to the new authorities.

Zahedi emerged as head of government under the Shah’s decree, reversing the defeat of the first coup attempt four days earlier.

The overthrow removed the government that had nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Revolutionary supporters later linked political independence to control over oil resources.

Knowledge of American and British involvement became a central part of revolutionary political memory and distrust of the United States.