CIA Documents Confirm its Role in 1953 Iranian Coup
Tanks on the streets of Teheran during the 1953 coup. (Photo: National Security Archive, GWU)
One of the decisive events in the history of Iran was the 1953 coup that overthrew the government of Mohammad Mossadegh.
It’s long been acknowledged that America and Britain played a role in instigating the coup.
Washington suspected Mossadegh was pro-Soviet.
But on Monday–the 60th anniversary of the coup–for the first time, CIA documents have been published detailing the extent of US involvement.
Malcolm Byrne of the National Security Archive at George Washington University obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request.
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