General Zahedi claims the premiership

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.

Royalist military units, paid organizers and street forces defeated the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh. Supporters of the 1979 Revolution later treated the coup as decisive evidence of Western...

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.

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.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi returned from exile with his position strengthened by the army and Western support.

The post-coup political order weakened parliamentary independence and increased repression of nationalist, communist and religious opponents.

A military court sentenced the former prime minister to three years in solitary confinement. He later remained under house arrest until his death.