2. The First CIA Coup: Turmoil in Tehran (Ep 2)

Summary

Podcast Title: The Rest Is Classified
Episode: 2. The First CIA Coup: Turmoil in Tehran
Release Date: November 28, 2024
Hosts: David McCloskey & Gordon Corera

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Introduction

In the second episode of The Rest Is Classified, hosts David McCloskey, a former CIA analyst turned spy novelist, and Gordon Corera, a veteran security correspondent, delve into the intricacies of the first major CIA-led coup—the 1953 overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. This detailed exploration uncovers the clandestine operations, key players, and lasting impacts of Operation Ajax, shedding light on a pivotal moment that reshaped Middle Eastern politics and international relations.

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Background: Iran's Oil Nationalization and Mossadegh's Rise

The episode opens with the nationalization of Iran’s oil industry under Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, challenging British control and igniting tensions between Iran and Western powers. Mossadegh's move to nationalize oil was a bold step towards asserting Iranian sovereignty but made him a target for British and American intelligence agencies wary of Soviet influence.

Notable Quote:

"Mossadegh had failed horribly." (03:17)

Gordon Corera emphasizes that Mossadegh's actions, while aiming for national independence, inadvertently paved the way for external intervention, setting the stage for the coup.

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Planning the Coup: Kermit Roosevelt's Leadership

Central to the narrative is Kermit Roosevelt, the CIA operative orchestrating the coup. Drawing parallels to his illustrious lineage—being the grandson of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt—Kermit's involvement underscores the deep-rooted interests the U.S. had in maintaining control over Iranian oil resources.

Notable Quote:

"If I had been but a few years younger, I'd love nothing better than to have served under your command in this great venture." (02:30)

This poignant exchange between Kermit and a dramatized Winston Churchill highlights the blend of personal ambition and geopolitical strategy driving the operation.

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Execution: From Chaos to Control

The execution of Operation Ajax was marked by a series of meticulously planned maneuvers intended to destabilize Mossadegh’s government and restore the Shah to power.

1. Initial Setbacks:

   • The first attempt to dismiss Mossadegh faltered when Colonel Nasiri, tasked with arresting the Prime Minister, found the military chief of staff’s house empty due to a leaked operation.
   • Mossadegh's loyal soldiers resisted, leading to Colonel Nasiri's arrest and a temporary failure of the initial plan.

   Notable Quote:

   "Mossadegh had failed horribly." (03:17)

2. Adaptation and Mobilization:

   • Unfazed by the initial setback, Roosevelt improvised by securing General Zahidi, a strongman perceived as capable of restoring order.
   • With decrees signed by the Shah, Roosevelt disseminated falsified orders to legitimize the dismissal of Mossadegh, ensuring the operation maintained a veneer of legality.

3. Creating Chaos:

   • The coup involved orchestrating street chaos through paid mobs, fostering an environment of instability that strengthened the rationale for intervention.
   • Religious groups aligned against Mossadegh complemented these actions, further isolating the Prime Minister.

   Notable Quote:

   "They're fermenting chaos on the streets. They are organizing mobs to protest." (07:32)

4. The Shah's Departure and Return:

   • As tensions peaked, the Shah fled Tehran, only to return triumphantly after the coup's success, perceiving it as a restoration of his rightful authority.

   Notable Quote:

   "At every critical juncture in the story, the Shah leaves." (10:31)

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Aftermath: Shifting Power and Oil Control

The successful coup resulted in a seismic shift in Iran's political landscape:

• Oil Dominance:

  • British and American interests regained substantial control over Iran’s oil, with BP securing a 40% stake and American companies obtaining an additional 40%.

  Notable Quote:

  "It's a transfer of Iran effectively being under British influence to being under American influence." (24:38)

• Consolidation of Power:

  • The Shah’s reinstatement marked the beginning of a pro-American dictatorship that lasted until the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
  • The CIA's involvement laid the groundwork for future interventions, fostering long-term resentment towards Western powers in the region.

• Human Cost:

  • The coup was not without its human toll, with approximately 300 casualties, half of which occurred during the fierce battle at Mossadegh's residence.

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Consequences and Reflections

Hosts reflect on the broader implications of the coup:

1. Legacy of CIA Interventions:

   • Operation Ajax set a precedent for CIA involvement in foreign coups, influencing U.S. foreign policy for decades.
   • Subsequent operations, such as those in Guatemala and Syria, often drew lessons from the perceived success and overconfidence of the 1953 coup.

   Notable Quote:

   "The CIA thought, hey, we can do coups, we can overthrow countries, it's easy, it's possible." (25:12)

2. Enduring Resentment:

   • The coup fostered a narrative of Western manipulation and exploitation, fueling anti-American and anti-British sentiments that persist in Iran and the broader Middle East.

   Notable Quote:

   "It feeds a resentment against the US and UK, which certainly lives on in Iran and other countries." (27:20)

3. Historical Accountability:

   • While the CIA has declassified some documents regarding Operation Ajax, much of the operation remains shrouded in secrecy.
   • The British MI6 continues to withhold official acknowledgment of its role, despite memoirs and accounts revealing their involvement.

   Notable Quote:

   "The Brits still will not acknowledge their role in the coup of '53. MI6 won't acknowledge it." (30:26)

4. Personal Regrets:

   • Figures like Kermit Roosevelt later expressed skepticism about the long-term efficacy of such interventions, recognizing that superficial victories could lead to deeper instability.

   Notable Quote:

   "Kermit himself suggests that they learned the wrong lessons and that actually what you need to do is understand the dynamics of the country." (25:22)

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Conclusion: A Cautionary Tale

The episode concludes by positioning Operation Ajax as a complex, multifaceted event with far-reaching consequences. It underscores the delicate balance between strategic objectives and ethical considerations in intelligence operations. The 1953 Tehran coup serves as a poignant reminder of how covert actions can reshape nations, influence global politics, and leave an indelible mark on international relations.

Final Notable Quote:

"The rest is classified." (30:57)

This closing remark encapsulates the enduring mystery and controversy surrounding covert operations, leaving listeners contemplating the unseen hands that shape history.

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Time-Stamped Highlights

• Introductory Sponsorship Skipped: [00:04] – [01:59]
• Operation Overview Begins: [01:49] – [27:59]
• Advertisements and Non-Content Sections Ignored: All segments marked as advertisements ([00:04] – [01:11], [01:11] – [01:49], [12:00] – [13:42])

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Key Takeaways

• Operation Ajax was a pivotal CIA-led coup that overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mossadegh, reinstating the Shah and realigning Iran’s oil industry under Western control.
• The coup's execution involved intricate planning, misinformation, and the orchestration of street chaos, demonstrating early Cold War-era intervention tactics.
• Long-term consequences of the coup include entrenched anti-Western sentiments in Iran, setting the stage for future conflicts and revolution.
• Historical accountability remains limited, with many aspects of the coup still classified, fueling ongoing debates about the ethics and effectiveness of such covert operations.

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Further Listening

For those intrigued by the complexities of espionage and covert operations, Episode 2 of The Rest Is Classified offers an in-depth look into one of the Cold War’s most significant interventions. Through expert analysis and vivid storytelling, McCloskey and Corera illuminate the shadows where history’s pivotal moments often unfold.

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Time Markers Explained:

• 00:04 – Advertisement begins
• 01:49 – Transition to content
• Various timestamps – Highlighted quotes and key moments during the episode

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Note: This summary omits non-content segments such as advertisements, intros, and outros to focus solely on the substantive discussions of the podcast episode.

Transcript

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[Gordon]

I was driven to number 10 Downing street at precisely 4 o'clock, I rang the doorbell. A military aide let me in. Mr. Roosevelt, come this way, please. He led me to a downstairs room.

[Winston Churchill]

A living room, I guess, that had.

[Gordon]

Been made into a bedroom. Churchill, whom I had not seen since the White House Christmas party of 1941, was lying propped up by pillows in the middle of the bed. We met at your cousin Franklin's, did we not? I thought so. Well, you have an exciting story to tell. I'm anxious to hear it. So I went into my routine, giving him the dramatic highlights in considerable detail. Quite often he interrupted with questions, and quite often he would doze off for a few minutes. We talked for almost two hours. Finally, I quoted the Shah's words about owing his country to God and some others, including me. Churchill grinned and shifted himself further up on his pillows.

[Winston Churchill]

Young man, if I had been but.

[Gordon]

A few years younger, I would love.

[Winston Churchill]

Nothing better than to have served under your command in this great venture.

[Gordon]

Well, that is CIA officer Kermit Roosevelt briefing Winston Churchill on the CIA MI6 coup of 1953. Welcome to the Rest is classified. And last time we left Kermit in.

[Winston Churchill]

A very dire situation in the middle of Iran.

[Gordon]

He has worked various angles to try to depose the Iranian Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, and remove him from power because he nationalized Iran's oil and took it away from the Brits. And we last left him overnight on August 15, when it looked like his plan to ferment chaos and then get.

[Winston Churchill]

The shot at is miss. Mossadegh had failed horribly.

[Monty]

That's right. We left him in the depths of despair, probably hungover from his night where he'd been expecting to triumphantly overthrow Mossadegh. But he doesn't give up. And I think that's what's fascinating about Kermit Roosevelt at this point and why he ends up sitting with Churchill in this amazing scene and telling Churchill, you know, a kind of beleaguered Churchill who's been ill recently and is not in his best state. But he was clearly fascinated by this story of how Kermit pulls it out of the bag, how Kermit manages to organize the coup. So what happened that night? Why had the original plan gone wrong? Colonel Nasiri, the head of the Imperial Bodyguard, he had these decrees which were supposed to dismiss Mossadegh, but there'd been an informer, A leak, A leak in the Imperial Guard. And that was always the risk of having delayed the plan because of the weekend. And what it meant was that when Nasiri arrives at the military chief of Staff's house, who he's supposed to arrest, there's no one there. The servants are gone. Everyone's gone. And he realizes at that point something's gone wrong. The cover's blown for the operation. He races to Mossadegh's house next to try and get him dismissed. And just before 1am on Sunday the 16th, he gets there with two trucks of soldiers with a decree to dismiss Mossadek. But already by then, Mossadek's got loyal soldiers with him. And so Nasiri has been arrested. And so by the next morning, Mossadegh goes on the radio. He says, I've defeated the coup. Crowds are out for Mossadegh, you know, against the Shah. And it looks over for Kermit. But the crucial thing is Kermit. He basically holds firm. He stays the course, but he improvises. I think that's what's interesting at this point.

[Winston Churchill]

And what's interesting to me is when.

[Gordon]

You read these accounts about Kermit's days.

[Winston Churchill]

In Tehran, he actually has not been sending many messages to the CIA. Not much is in writing, and for very good reason, I think, given what he's up to.

[Gordon]

But the CIA does send a message to Kermit overnight that basically says, if you're in trouble, get out so you don't get killed, and if you're not.

[Winston Churchill]

Go ahead and try again.

[Gordon]

And Kermit effectively decides to kind of reroll the dice, doesn't he?

[Monty]

And what's interesting is at this point, he's improvising. The original plan hasn't worked, so he realizes he's got to try and move fast. The first thing he does is go and get General Zahidi. So, worth saying who he is. He is the kind of strongman, if you like, that the US and UK have picked as their replacement for Mossadegh. He's a former general. He's been involved in politics, he's been arrested at various points. He actually, in World War II, was seen as a bit pro Nazi by the Brits, but nevertheless, they've come round to him because they think he's the guy who can restore order. I mean, it's a classic thing, isn't it? Go for the strongman.

[Winston Churchill]

That's right.

[Gordon]

Well, I mean, Coup 101 here, you need the military either on the sidelines.

[Winston Churchill]

Or in your camp.

[Gordon]

Right.

[Winston Churchill]

And Mossadegh doesn't really have the military.

[Gordon]

But at this point, the Shah kind of doesn't either, does he? Yeah, it's kind of in the balance. That's right.

[Monty]

And the next thing that Kermit realizes he's got to his advantage is he's got the decrees signed by the Shah which dismiss Mossadegh and install Zahidi. And so he's got those already. So he realizes this is the kind of the card he can play. So he finds some of the few copying machines in Tehran. So photocopiers and people who saw them had never seen these machines before, but he's able to copy the decrees and then get them handed out to new newspapers and distributed to Military commanders and others to make the case that this is a legal process to get rid of Mossadegh.

[Winston Churchill]

And it is a legal process, though, isn't it? Because we've been using the C word a lot.

[Monty]

Coup.

[Gordon]

And it is not exactly a coup because the Shah can dismiss Mossadegh.

[Winston Churchill]

He's unwilling to do so because Mossadegh has.

[Gordon]

He has a power base, although it's narrowed over the course of the chaos in Tehran. But it's a little trickier, isn't it? I mean, there's a definition here where The CIA and MI6 are just encouraging.

[Winston Churchill]

The Shah to uphold his constitutional responsibilities.

[Monty]

Now, if that was all they were doing, David, I would have some sympathy with your point of view, that this isn't really a coup. But here's what else they're doing is they're fermenting chaos on the streets. They are organizing.

[Gordon]

That's just good fun.

[Monty]

No, that is. That is getting crowds and mobs out to protest. Now, this is the bit which is the proper subterfuge bit, because at this point, what they're doing is getting mobs out to pretend they're pro Mossadegh and to kind of tear down statues and create violence. But they're actually being paid for by the CIA, particularly through the Rashidian brothers, who we mentioned last time, who were the kind of. Formerly the British agents on the ground.

[Gordon]

Network of supporters. Yes.

[Winston Churchill]

Some of the documents describe them as guys who can hire ruffians to get.

[Gordon]

Out on the street.

[Monty]

Exactly. And so the mobs are now out there, paid for mobs, creating chaos. And then there's this great bit on, I think, the Tuesday where. And this is, I have to say, real subterfuge from the Americans, because the US Ambassador goes to see Mossadegh, and Mossadegh at this point doesn't seem to realize that the Americans are behind the coup.

[Winston Churchill]

He thinks that Kermit is James Lockridge and he's just wasted at his villa playing Tank.

[Monty]

He thinks it's the Brits. So Mossadegh is like, you know, these terrible Brits. They seem to be plotting something, you know, and the American ambassador is, I'm really sorry, it's really bad. And actually says, but you know, what I'm worried about is the safety of American citizens in Tehran, and you need to do something about these mobs that are out there. Now, this is. This is naughty stuff, isn't it, David?

[Gordon]

It's a little naughty. Although we should say that a year.

[Winston Churchill]

Before this, Mossadegh has shut down the streets of Tehran with his own mobs.

[Gordon]

Yeah, this sort of national front political coalition.

[Winston Churchill]

So this using the street to affect.

[Gordon]

Politics, both sides have done this over.

[Winston Churchill]

The course of the last few years.

[Gordon]

Right? I mean, this all's fair.

[Monty]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But hang on a sec here. The American ambassador is saying, please restore order or else, you know, we might have to withdraw support from you. Well, the reason there's no order on the streets is because the Americans, thanks to Kermit, are paying for people to riot in Mossadegh's name. And they're the ones trying to undermine him.

[Winston Churchill]

Does the ambassador know that Kermit's there?

[Monty]

Oh, yeah, I think he does. I mean, he's just come back into the country to do this and Mossadegh goes, oh, I'm really sorry. I mean, he kind of buys this because he likes the Americans. This is the interesting thing. Mossadegh likes the Americans because he sees them as anti colonialists. He's still got this idea that, you know, the Brits are the real enemy, the crafty ones, the manipulative ones, but the Americans, you know, they're probably on my side. Poor guy.

[Gordon]

Well, and it is interesting. I mean, Kermit is sort of out of the vein of T.E.

[Winston Churchill]

Lawrence.

[Gordon]

You know, he's kind of a bit.

[Winston Churchill]

Of an Arabist, Arab nationalist.

[Gordon]

And so he supported these sort of.

[Winston Churchill]

Anti colonial movements all around the region. And then here he is in Iran.

[Gordon]

Doing precisely the opposite.

[Monty]

Yeah, and it's worth saying maybe here as well, what the Shah is up to. Because the last time we heard about the Shah, he had flown away from the Caspian to Baghdad. Now he's pitched up. This is Tuesday now in Rome, and he pitches up. You can see the pictures of it. He gets off the plane with his wife and they look like kind of film stars. And the cameras are there. He's worried it's over for him. He's left the country. He's telling his wife that they might have to sell their diamonds to fund their exile.

[Winston Churchill]

At every critical juncture in the story, the Shah leaves.

[Monty]

Yeah, he does a runner. But then there is the strangest thing. So he goes into to check in to the Hotel Excelsior in Rome, where he's going to stay. And who is checking in at exactly that moment? Alan Dulles, the head of the CIA. Now, officially, Dulles is there just on holiday. He's just on a tour of Europe.

[Winston Churchill]

I know that you wrote that this was a coincidence.

[Gordon]

I cannot believe it.

[Monty]

Dulles supposedly says, after you, your Majesty, at check in, because they're Both walking into check in at the same time. Now, this is kind of crazy coincidence, isn't it?

[Winston Churchill]

There is a conversation between two CIA officers that has come out in the.

[Gordon]

Declassified stuff where they are talking, they're briefing each other, and one says, dulles.

[Winston Churchill]

And the Shah are in Rome at the same time.

[Gordon]

What do you think is the worst thing that could have happened?

[Winston Churchill]

And the CIA officer on the other line guesses.

[Gordon]

He says Dulles ran him over with his car and he said, no, it's.

[Winston Churchill]

Even worse than that. They met at the hotel.

[Monty]

Yeah, because I initially thought, well, this can't be a coincidence. This has all been set up. He's there to kind of manipulate the Shah. But actually, it's kind of bad, isn't it? Because the whole point is the American role in the coup is supposed to be hidden, supposed to be classified. Yeah, it's supposed to be classified. So the idea that they're bumping into each other at the hotel anyway, it's just a kind of crazy coincidence. But as Tuesday finishes, it all hangs in the balance. Now for the final day, which is going to be Wednesday, August 19, Kermit makes his final push.

[Gordon]

And maybe we leave it there, take a break, and when we come back.

[Winston Churchill]

We'Ll see what kind of dirty tricks.

[Gordon]

Kermit gets up to.

[Monty]

Let's see. This episode is brought to you by.

[Kermit]

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[Monty]

Welcome back. I'm going to start with a quote from Monty Woodhouse, who you might Remember is the MI6 officer who first came up with the idea for Operation Boot Ajax. Ajax, as the Americans call it. This is him from his memoir. He's now in Korea. Most of the daytime I spent with the British ambassador in his residence. He had a battery radio which could just pick up the BBC. His main interest was in the final Test match between England and Australia, which was taking place at the Oval. We were in the process of winning back the Ashes for the first time in 20 years. David. This is a big deal, by the way. So naturally this took precedence over diplomatic business. But occasionally I was allowed to listen for other news. I expected to hear only that Mossadegh was on the rampage against the Shah supporters. But gradually, faint indications came out from the radio's feeble oscillations that something quite different was happening. The results showed that our organizations had done their work well, but it was not all plain sailing.

[Winston Churchill]

What is the Ashes equivalent in the States, Gordon?

[Monty]

I don't think there is anything. I mean, it's the most important thing in cricket and for many people, the most important thing in sport, some in life, which is England, Australia and cricket.

[Gordon]

So it's the super bowl meets a Taylor Swift concert.

[Monty]

None of that even comes close, I think. Sorry. Back to Iran, though.

[Gordon]

Okay, back to Iran. It is the morning of August 19, 1953.

[Monty]

Yeah.

[Gordon]

And Monty was hoping for some very good news. But we have a very delicate situation.

[Winston Churchill]

Don'T we, on the streets of Tehran.

[Gordon]

Where Kermit Roosevelt is attempting to oust Mossadegh as the Prime Minister.

[Winston Churchill]

Essentially he's feeding the streets, isn't he.

[Gordon]

To create chaos, to secure the loyalty of military officers and to really get this new prospective Prime Minister Zahidi to.

[Winston Churchill]

Step in, take charge and get rid.

[Gordon]

Of Mosaddex or the shock and come.

[Winston Churchill]

Back from his lovely vacation in Rome.

[Monty]

And so this morning is the morning for the final push. And it's an amazing scene, really. The Rashidian brothers, these originally MI6 agents, now working for the CIA, have been paying groups to come out. Truckloads of people are coming in. In particular, there's these groups which are called the Houses of Strength or the athletics clubs. Now, it's hard to understand quite what they are, but they were bodybuilders, weightlifters. I mean, these are people who carry kind of barbells. They're tumbling, they're acrobats. And they were the stars, the kind of almost like the sports stars of Tehran and Iran of the day. I mean, they were celebrities, they were big figures. They were also kind of obviously, given their build and what they did, tough guys who occasionally might be used to enforce things in the bazaars and amongst the merchants. But it gave it the look of almost a carnival because you've got this group of people, you know, twirling, carrying weights, you know, moving down the street, which of course then gathers even more crowds to come and watch them and join in as they march from the south of Tehran towards the center.

[Gordon]

And I must say, the way you wrote this script, the first time I.

[Winston Churchill]

Read it, it made me think of the scene in Aladdin where Prince Ali ARR. And it is.

[Gordon]

It's like a circus, isn't it?

[Winston Churchill]

On the streets.

[Gordon]

I mean, so it's not. We think of Iran and we think.

[Winston Churchill]

Of these horrible scenes from 1979.

[Gordon]

There's gonna be a little bit of that.

[Winston Churchill]

But this does have maybe a carnival atmosphere to it.

[Gordon]

Yes, a lot of people are out.

[Winston Churchill]

To have some fun.

[Monty]

Yeah. And you've also got. Now you have the religious groups coming out and they've decided to come out against Mossadegh, which is also crucial in building the tide that's going to take him down.

[Gordon]

He's just got communists left on his side, doesn't he?

[Monty]

Yeah, he's getting more and more isolated. It's not quite clear how far the relig groups were paid and how far they wanted to stop the communists. So there is an element of kind of spontaneity and domestic forces as well as people who are paid for and organized by the CIA. But meanwhile, the pro Mossadegh crowds had been dispersed the previous day because after the US ambassador had gone to Mossadegh and said, oh, you've got to kind of protect my people by getting rid of these nasty crowds. So all you've got, if you like, are the kind of anti Mossadek crowds who are now heading for the main squares, heading for government buildings. The military are certainly not intervening. They're either wavering or in some cases, joining in and backing them. And at this moment, Kermit gets a message from Washington.

[Gordon]

Give up and get out.

[Winston Churchill]

Yes, is the message he gets.

[Gordon]

I don't like the sound of that. I don't think Kermit does either, does he?

[Monty]

No, I mean, this seems to have been a message that was delayed coming into him. And it looks like Washington has lost its nerve and said, you know, just give up, get out there while you can. And Kermit just laughs and sends a message back going, you know, it's all going to be fine. The Shah will be back in no time. Love and kisses from all the team he sends.

[Gordon]

That is a proper way to sign off any CIA cable. So there you go.

[Monty]

So at this point, we're coming to the crucial moment in which the crowds, the military units, are now heading for key locations. The radio station we talked about, that's important.

[Gordon]

You need the radio station.

[Monty]

Yeah, that's the main way people are getting the news. So going for the radio station again, you know, that's the classic thing in a coup, isn't it? Modern times, it's TV. Future is probably gonna be the YouTube and the influencers. But in those days it was the radio stations that you had to go to and get control of. And they were already taking control of it by about 2:00, 4:00, they've got control of it. They're sending out messages that they've won even though they haven't yet. And meanwhile, Kermit goes to get Zahidi, his strongman, and he finds.

[Gordon]

Who's not in his sort of stars.

[Winston Churchill]

And bars, is he?

[Monty]

No, he's not in his uniform. Ready. Kermit finds him in his underwear in a basement.

[Winston Churchill]

There's a real pajama underwear undercurrent to.

[Gordon]

This, to this series, isn't it? These Iranian politicians are not in their clothing.

[Monty]

Well, and you do wonder if that's a bit of the kind of Western accounts to try and slightly undermine them and make them come across as a bit silly. And the crowd is coming to get Zahidi and Roosevelt again, I mean, which is a theme in this. Realizes I mustn't be spotted here. So he then hides in the basement so he's not spotted. And again, it just desperate attempt to keep the American role hidden in this. But Zahidi's then taken in a tank to the radio station. And another kind of Crazy detail. They decide before he goes on the radio they should play some martial music, you know, to introduce him and his speech. And someone had grabbed just a record from the U.S. embassy. And they think, well, we'll just put it on. And so they put it on and it's the Star Spangled Banner.

[Gordon]

That's not a good look.

[Monty]

It's not a good look.

[Gordon]

That's, I guess the equivalent of when we toppled Saddam in 03 and then.

[Winston Churchill]

Put an American flag over the statue.

[Gordon]

You know, it just doesn't sit well.

[Monty]

And it also is not the kind of point in a covert coup playing the Star Spangled Banner on the radio frowned upon. So they take it off pretty quickly, I think.

[Winston Churchill]

So it's late afternoon.

[Monty]

Yeah.

[Gordon]

And this is really going to crystallize around Mossadegh. Right. Mossadegh has been at his house for the afternoon. There's been some unpleasantness there, some gun battles, some street action, but they send.

[Winston Churchill]

The military, some of these key units to actually get him, don't they?

[Tommy John]

Yeah.

[Monty]

So there's a full on gun battle at the house. Middle of the afternoon. Mossadegh is upstairs in his bedroom in his pyjamas, supposedly. Again, that's the story. Weeping when he hears the radio station has now fallen. Now, at this point, tanks arrive, the ones that have been at the radio station, they now come to his house. A loyal colonel tells Mossadegh it's looking bleak. You know, they're outgunned. You know, the ammunition is running low. I mean, at least 300 people die that day and about half of them at Mossadegh's house. So it is a pretty fierce battle.

[Gordon]

Because he does have some pull in.

[Winston Churchill]

The military, doesn't he?

[Monty]

Still got some loyal units. That's right. And Zahidi, at about 5:30, broadcasts that he's now the prime minister around that time as well. The window behind Mossadegh shatters. He realizes he's in danger. And at one point I think he thought he might stay and be a martyr. But he decides he's gonna run. So he flees out the back over a ladder through the garden and house to house. It's one of those amazing scenes where they're kind of going rooftop to rooftop. And they go to one rooftop and there's a group of people on the rooftop drinking tea and watching the shelling of his house. And he's kind of walking past them as if it's a kind of show. It's a show. Yeah, it's a show. So he escapes at that point, but by the morning he's decided it's all over and he's surrendered. So at that point, effectively, it's over. The Shah, meanwhile, back to the Shah, who is in Rome, ensconced in his fancy hotel. He's having dinner with his wife when reporters come and tell him that there's been a coup. And he says, I knew it. They love me.

[Gordon]

That is the wrong takeaway, isn't that?

[Monty]

Yeah, that is the wrong takeaway. I mean, it tells you quite a lot about him, doesn't it, that he thinks it's him, it's me, they. They want me back.

[Gordon]

There's so much foreshadowing of 79 here, isn't there? Of. Of him fleeing when it gets tough.

[Winston Churchill]

And the delusion, I mean, you think so many of these Brits and Americans after this must have sensed that they were dealing with. Fundamentally flawed.

[Gordon]

Got to sort of prop up your regime with.

[Monty]

And yet by Saturday, he's returning in triumph and he is back to being His Imperial Majesty. And, you know, I think his ego is probably wrongly inflated by events that day. And so in the aftermath, I mean, it does look like a success, doesn't it?

[Gordon]

Well, they have Mossadegh under house arrest.

[Monty]

They've got Mossadegh under house arrest.

[Gordon]

It sort of fades into obscurity.

[Monty]

Yep, yep. It dies eventually. In 67, Kermit is paraded around, he comes to London and that scene that you memorably described with Churchill, where he tells his story, and he loves telling the story to people, Kermit, and they love listening. And meanwhile, we said at the start of our first episode it was all about oil. So with the oil, it's quite interesting, bp, what becomes BP is back Anglo Iranian, but it doesn't quite get back to what it was. So it gets 40% of the Iranian oil. American companies get another 40%, some other internationals get the rest. I think that's quite telling, isn't it?

[Winston Churchill]

Well, Kermit goes to work for an.

[Gordon]

American oil company after this, doesn't he? He goes to work for Del Fuel.

[Winston Churchill]

In a few years.

[Monty]

But the Brits have got, well, they're oil back, but they're now sharing it.

[Gordon]

With the Americans, which is also an apt kind of analogy for the way this partnership will have changed from pre Second World War to the early Cold War. And we talk about the money. It is interesting to see how it kind of changed Iran because we don't have the money going into Mosaddegh's coffers, we now have it going to the Shah and the Americans are going to write almost a billion dollars of checks over the coming decade to prop this guy up to feed his military and security services. So in some ways it is a.

[Winston Churchill]

Bit of a transfer. I mean, the Americans are cut in.

[Gordon]

Certainly, but it is a transfer from.

[Winston Churchill]

Mosaddegh and his government to the imperial government of the Shah.

[Monty]

And it is also a transfer of Iran effectively being under British influence to being under American influence. That's the shift, isn't it, Is that he becomes a kind of an American man, the Shah, effectively, until 1979 when he's deposed.

[Gordon]

And there is a very short termist view which I do think Kermit trades.

[Winston Churchill]

In for a little bit, which is.

[Gordon]

This was an astoundingly successful piece of COVID action work where he is, for not much money, a couple million dollars.

[Winston Churchill]

In the end.

[Gordon]

Get in and work the sort of levers of power in Tehran effectively to get an exceptional outcome. But even Kermit, I think, is skeptical.

[Winston Churchill]

Isn'T he, about the long term lessons.

[Gordon]

That we're to take from this?

[Winston Churchill]

Because the CIA kind of looks at.

[Gordon]

This and says, well, we could do coups. And there's one in Guatemala, an attempt in Guatemala that doesn't go well. There's one in Syria in 57 that doesn't go well. So there is a sense of this playbook that actually doesn't quite translate anywhere else, but that the CIA is quite.

[Winston Churchill]

Keen to use in this period.

[Monty]

One of the people from that era says, success gave the CIA its first.

[Gordon]

Pair of pants, which is we were pantsless. We were pantsless before 53.

[Monty]

But I guess the point you're making is that the CIA suddenly thinks, hey, we can do coups, we can overthrow countries, it's easy, it's possible. And I think Kermit himself suggests that they learned the wrong lessons and that actually what you need to do is understand the dynamics of the country, what's going on on the ground, the instability, the different forces at play and work those and kind of go with the grain if you like, and you can guide it and manipulate it, but you can't necessarily do a coup out of nothing if you haven't got those forces at play already in the country. That seems to be his conclusion of it. And I think he regrets that they don't learn that lesson.

[Winston Churchill]

Well, he actually said, now we'll think we can walk on water everywhere.

[Gordon]

And it's not actually the case in.

[Winston Churchill]

Iran, though it's very interesting, isn't it?

[Gordon]

Because I think there is a, an argument to be made that this coup, whatever we want to call it, this attempt to really shape Iranian politics, I'm.

[Winston Churchill]

Not sure how much of a straight.

[Gordon]

Line it has to 1979, which is when the Shah is deposed. Exactly. I think in some respects it delays that because it creates certainly a pro American, for a time, stable air quotes dictatorship that's formally out of the Soviet.

[Winston Churchill]

Sphere of influence, that is open for.

[Gordon]

Business to America, Great Britain, Israel, but it can't prevent that kind of unrest.

[Winston Churchill]

From popping up again.

[Gordon]

So in some ways I think it's.

[Winston Churchill]

A bandaid over a bullet hole here.

[Gordon]

To put a cap on Iranian political instability.

[Monty]

Yeah. And there is a debate about whether you can draw a line between 53 and what comes after. I think what you can say though is it feeds a narrative, a resentment against the US and uk, doesn't it, in Iran, in the Middle east, it creates this idea that the countries are manipulating politics, that it's all about oil, that they're carrying out coups, that the CIA is this kind of, you know, great arch manipulator. And also, particularly in Iran, that even behind that is Britain often, which is even more powerful, they think. And so it does feed a resentment against the US and uk, which certainly lives on in Iran and other countries, doesn't it?

[Winston Churchill]

No, absolutely.

[Gordon]

And I think Iranians love a good conspiracy and not without reason. This is a country, civilization that's really been sort of pushed and pulled from all different directions, constantly invaded, conquered. I mean, it is a people who I think are sort of prone to.

[Winston Churchill]

Seeing the hand of others in their own politics.

[Gordon]

And this is an example where I.

[Winston Churchill]

Don'T think it's the case that there.

[Gordon]

Wouldn'T have been protests and street action.

[Winston Churchill]

And chaos if The CIA and MI6 weren't involved.

[Gordon]

They certainly, they didn't light the fire.

[Winston Churchill]

But they certainly helped defeat it and.

[Gordon]

To really direct the outcome, I think. So. It's a more complicated story, I think.

[Winston Churchill]

Than the one we often get, which.

[Gordon]

Is that Mossadegh is a liberal Democrat who's running a democracy and who's ousted.

[Monty]

And everything is fine until he's ousted.

[Winston Churchill]

Before the Brits and the Americans come in.

[Gordon]

It's not that, but it's certainly. I think it's obvious that the CIA.

[Winston Churchill]

And MI6 played a critical role in.

[Gordon]

Directing Iranian politics for the next couple decades to come.

[Monty]

But it is interesting how in hindsight, many of those involved do later regret it, including Kermit, I think, and who do feel it was a mistake. Some of them Even in the CIA draw a line between the success in 53 and then the Bay of Pigs in 61, which actually kills off the career of Alan Dulles, CIA director, because again, that sense of overconfidence that you can do these things. One interesting point to end with is that the CIA has declassified.

[Gordon]

Put some documents out.

[Monty]

Put some documents out about its role in the coup, partly in the context of, if you like, when they were trying to make better relations with the Iranians, to almost apologize.

[Gordon]

It's happening about a decade ago.

[Monty]

Yeah, 2013, when they were trying to improve relations, to say, look, we're going to take responsibility, we were involved in this coup, we're going to come clean about it. The Brits, though.

[Gordon]

Well, one point we should make on the Americans is coming clean. You look at those documents, huge amounts of them, I would argue the juiciest parts are still not declassified. And a bunch of the initial kind of hard copy stuff was actually put. It was put into safes at langley in the 50s and then in the early 60s, the report says that basically a lot of CIA officers ran out.

[Winston Churchill]

Of space in their safes and so.

[Gordon]

They destroyed a lot of the hard copy cables and material about Ajax. So there's a whole story here, I.

[Winston Churchill]

Think, that remains in the classified portion of.

[Gordon]

The rest is classified.

[Monty]

Yeah, but hang on. Even that is more than the Brits have done because the Brits still will not acknowledge their role in the coup of 53. MI6 won't acknowledge it. The Foreign Office won't acknowledge it, despite the fact that people like Monty Woodhouse have written memoirs about their role in it and that they were in MI6 and planned the whole thing. Officially, Britain will not comment about its role in the coup and says that is still classified.

[Gordon]

Well, I think that is a good place to leave it on. The rest is classified.

[Monty]

Well, thank you, David, and look forward to our next story next time.

[Gordon]

Thanks very much, Gordon. See you then.