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- [00:01]
Luke Lamanna
My name is Luke Lamanna, and you may be asking yourself, what is this guy doing on my feed? Well, not too long ago, my YouTube series got the attention of Ballin Studios, the team behind Mr. Balin podcast, Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories, and so many other great podcasts. And together we decided to launch a brand new podcast. It's called Declassified Mysteries, and in this show we dive deep into astonishing true stories of secrets, lies and deception inside the world's most powerful institutions. You see, history has shown us one thing. When you try too hard to hide something, it only makes people more curious. After exhaustively researching how governments and military operations have cloaked their actions in secrecy, it's time to bring these stories out of the shadows. Trust me when I tell you the stories are real and the secrets are shocking. I'm about to play you a clip from Declassified Mysteries. While you listen, make sure to follow the show on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:13]
Narrator
In the summer of 1953, CIA operative Kermit Roosevelt Jr. Paced around his office at the American Embassy in Tehran, or as he liked to call it, his battle station. Kermit was the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt and took real pleasure in feeling like he was in charge. But outside the embassy, in the Iranian streets, it didn't seem like anyone was in command of anything. Beyond the gates at the edge of the embassy compound, crowds of protesters were moving down the street, chanting anti American slogans. What sounded like a glass bottle exploded on the street. Kermit moved to his window and flipped the blinds shut. Iran's government was friendly with the US in those days, but Tehran, the capital, had been in chaos for the past three days. There had been protests and riots all over the city, and now the violence was reaching a crescendo. Statues of former Iranian leaders had been torn down one by one. The crowds had also looted every building.
- [02:18]
Luke Lamanna
In the main city square and opened.
- [02:20]
Narrator
Fire on counter protesters and passersby alike.
- [02:24]
Luke Lamanna
So far, hundreds had died in the.
- [02:26]
Narrator
Riots, and inside the American Embassy, the tension was high. Kermit, the CIA's director of operations, took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. Then the door to his office swung open, and as radio operators stumbled in on already on the verge of tears, with a shaky hand, he held up a cable transmission. It had been sent almost 24 hours ago, but there had been some kind of delay.
- [02:51]
Radio Operator
The operator looked sick as he read the transmission aloud, urging Kermit and his people to evacuate Tehran. Washington wanted them gone before the mobs had a chance to storm the embassy before it was too late for them to get out of Iran alive. But Kermit showed no surprise. This was the third time he'd been told to leave the embassy since the street fighting had started.
- [03:16]
Narrator
A gunshot rang out somewhere down below, and the operator jumped, but Kermit remained unflinching. He laughed coldly and told the operator to return to his desk. They weren't going anywhere. The radio operator backed out of his office, walking down the hallway as though he was on a death march. But Kermit wasn't even a little concerned, because he knew something that his superiors back in the United States didn't that he was the one responsible for all of this chaos, and things were going better than he could have dreamed.
- [03:53]
Luke Lamanna
Follow Redacted Declassified Mysteries with me, Luke lamanna, on the Wondery app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [04:00]
Narrator
You can listen to Redacted early and.
- [04:02]
Luke Lamanna
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