Iran and the U.S., Part One

Summary

Throughline: Iran and the U.S., Part One

Host: Rund Abdelfattah & Ramtin Arablouei
Release Date: June 24, 2025
NPR's Throughline delves into the intricate historical relationship between Iran and the United States, focusing on the pivotal events of the 1953 coup that overthrew Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh. Hosted by Rund Abdelfattah and Ramtin Arablouei, this episode dissects the origins and ramifications of one of the most consequential moments in Middle Eastern history.

---

1. The Prelude to the Coup

The episode opens with Rund Abdelfattah setting the stage for the 1953 coup attempt. As tensions between the U.S. and Iran simmer, the hosts rewind to August 15, 1953, a night fraught with uncertainty for Prime Minister Mosaddegh.

Rund Abdelfattah [00:20]: "We're all watching the current conflict between the United States and Iran. And it got us thinking about the origins of the incredibly complex relationship between these two countries."

Mosaddegh, aware of the looming threat, awaited the arrival of the Presidential Guard soldiers poised to arrest him, unaware of the broader geopolitical maneuvers at play.

Stephen Kinzer [01:00]: "One truckload of Presidential Guard soldiers were going to Mossadegh's house at midnight."

However, the initial attempt failed due to leaks and missteps, allowing Mosaddegh to evade arrest and remain in power temporarily.

---

2. The Strategic Maneuvers Behind the Coup

The narrative shifts to Kermit Roosevelt, the CIA operative tasked with orchestrating the coup. Born into a lineage of American privilege, Roosevelt embodied the early CIA's elitist ethos.

Sanam Baki [07:12]: "Kermit Roosevelt was chief of the CIA's Near East and Africa division."

Roosevelt's strategy unfolded in meticulously planned steps:

• Control the Media: Roosevelt bribed Iranian journalists to disseminate anti-Mosaddegh propaganda, painting him as a threat to national stability.

  Rund Abdelfattah [08:39]: "Even though the CIA had devised a plan for Roosevelt, no one was sure it would actually work."

• Mobilize Clergy Support: Financial incentives were provided to influential mullahs to denounce Mosaddegh from the pulpit, leveraging religious authority to sway public opinion.

  Stephen Kinzer [10:01]: "Mossadegh was a Jew, a homosexual, a British agent. Anything that they thought would outrage people."

• Leverage the Shah's Influence: Despite initial resistance, Roosevelt ingeniously persuaded Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi through clandestine midnight meetings, eventually securing his support for the coup.

  Rund Abdelfattah [10:44]: "Roosevelt saw an opening to turn them [Shah and Prime Minister] against each other."

---

3. The Failed Initial Coup and the Emergence of Plan B

On August 16, 1953, Roosevelt and his agents celebrated what they believed was a successful coup. However, reality shattered their optimism when they discovered that Mosaddegh had outmaneuvered them.

Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi [06:15]: "They call you Lady Luck."

This failure set the stage for a more aggressive second attempt. Roosevelt, undeterred by the initial setback, devised a Plan B that would ultimately change the course of Iranian history.

---

4. The Second Coup: Chaos and Consolidation

By August 19, 1953, Roosevelt initiated a second, more violent phase of the coup. Utilizing a duplicitous strategy, the CIA orchestrated simultaneous attacks by different mobs to create chaos and paint Mosaddegh as the instigator.

Stephen Kinzer [29:30]: "Kermit Roosevelt had not given up and was actually having a plan B."

The meticulously coordinated violence overwhelmed Iranian defenses, leading to Mosaddegh's eventual arrest and the installation of General Zahedi as a puppet leader, paving the way for the Shah’s return.

Stephen Kinzer [31:14]: "They got him over a fence, he fled, the house was looted... proclaimed himself as new leader of Iran."

---

5. Aftermath: The Shah's Authoritarian Rule and Suppression of Mossadegh

With the coup's success, the Shah established a dictatorial regime that lasted 25 years, suppressing any remnants of Mosaddegh's democratic legacy.

Rund Abdelfattah [32:16]: "The Shah then ruled over Iran like a dictator for 25 years."

Mosaddegh himself faced imprisonment and eventual house arrest, with his legacy obscured under the Shah's oppressive rule.

---

6. The Roots of Modern Tensions

The episode concludes by linking the 1953 coup to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, highlighting how historical grievances fueled longstanding animosities between Iran and the U.S.

Kermit Roosevelt [35:07]: "In 1979, the 1953 coup was invoked as justification for seizing the American Embassy."

Roya Hakakian, a scholar and personal witness to Iran's turmoil, challenges the oversimplified narrative that solely blames U.S. intervention, emphasizing the significant role of Iran's clergy in shaping the nation’s trajectory.

Rund Abdelfattah [36:57]: "It's a mistake to put all the blame for Iran's problems on the US intervention in 1953 that the Iranian clergy have played a part too."

---

7. Personal Perspectives and Legacy

Through the voices of Ramtin Arablouei and Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi, the episode humanizes Mosaddegh, portraying him as a beloved national hero whose vision for Iran was brutally curtailed.

Roya Hakakian [21:01]: "I'm a retired physician... I wanted some sort of justice in the world."

Mossadegh's enduring legacy continues to influence Iran's political landscape, symbolizing both democratic aspirations and the repercussions of foreign interference.

---

Key Takeaways

• The 1953 coup was a meticulously planned CIA operation led by Kermit Roosevelt to overthrow Iran's Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, primarily driven by geopolitical and economic interests surrounding Iranian oil.
• Initial coup attempts failed, leading to more aggressive strategies that ultimately resulted in the Shah's authoritarian rule.
• The legacy of the coup planted seeds of distrust and tension that culminated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent hostage crisis, shaping the enduring fraught relationship between Iran and the United States.
• The episode underscores the complexity of historical narratives, highlighting both external interventions and internal power dynamics as pivotal factors in Iran's political evolution.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Rund Abdelfattah [00:20]: "We're all watching the current conflict between the United States and Iran. And it got us thinking about the origins of the incredibly complex relationship between these two countries."
• Stephen Kinzer [01:00]: "One truckload of Presidential Guard soldiers were going to Mossadegh's house at midnight."
• Ramtin Arablouei [03:09]: "I definitely heard stuff about it, especially from my father who would remind me all the time..."
• Rund Abdelfattah [08:39]: "Even though the CIA had devised a plan for Roosevelt, no one was sure it would actually work."
• Stephen Kinzer [10:01]: "Mossadegh was a Jew, a homosexual, a British agent. Anything that they thought would outrage people."
• Stephen Kinzer [29:30]: "Kermit Roosevelt had not given up and was actually having a plan B."
• Rund Abdelfattah [32:16]: "The Shah then ruled over Iran like a dictator for 25 years."
• Kermit Roosevelt [35:07]: "In 1979, the 1953 coup was invoked as justification for seizing the American Embassy."
• Rund Abdelfattah [36:57]: "It's a mistake to put all the blame for Iran's problems on the US intervention in 1953 that the Iranian clergy have played a part too."
• Roya Hakakian [21:01]: "I wanted some sort of justice in the world."

---

This comprehensive exploration by Throughline not only recounts historical events but also invites listeners to reflect on the lasting impacts of political interventions and the intricate web of factors that shape international relations.

Transcript

[Michelle Lance]

Support for npr. And the following message come from Indeed. You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed. Claim your $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com NPR terms and conditions apply.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Hey, it's rund. We're all watching the current conflict between the United States and Iran. And it got us thinking about the origins of the incredibly complex relationship between these two countries. Today, we're bringing you the very first episode of Throughline, the story of how the US overthrew Iran's democratically elected prime minister back in 1953. It first ran in 2019, but it's just as relevant today as it was then. August 15, 1953.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Shortly before midnight in Tehran, Iran's capital city, the air was thick with anticipation. Something big was about to happen.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

The elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, was sitting at home waiting. He knew something was coming, and he.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Had no idea if he'd still be prime minister by morning.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

So with each tick, tick, tick of the clock, he knew that the future of Iran was at stake.

[Stephen Kinzer]

One truckload of Presidential Guard soldiers were going to Mossadegh's house at midnight.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Their mission was simple.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Go to Mosaddegh's house in the middle.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Of the night, knock on the door.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Tell him he's fired.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Mosaddegh would then protest, undoubtedly, and say, you can't fire me. I'm elected.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And at that point, you would arrest him.

[Sanam Baki]

That failed because Mossadegh found out about the arrest.

[Stephen Kinzer]

News of it leaked out.

[Sanam Baki]

Then there was a bit of panic among the army that was supposed to come out and support the arrest of Mossadegh. The phone lines were supposed to be cut. They were not cut. So there were a number of missteps that took place.

[Stephen Kinzer]

And when the soldiers arrived at Mossadegh's house to arrest him, other soldiers jumped out of the woods and arrested those guys.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Mossadegh's forces had foiled the coup attempt. He would stay prime minister.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

But little did he know that night was just the beginning of a much bigger battle to come. And it would change the future of Iran and America.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

British hating Premier Mossadegh arrives in Cairo. Former Premier Mossadegh's growing count is a mute testimony to three days of bloody rioting, culminating in a military killing of.

[Stephen Kinzer]

The force for the first time. Now, the CIA has released documents that.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Show its role in the 1953 coup. You're listening to Throughline, where we go back in time to understand the presentation all right, Ramtin, you were born in Iran and you've spent a bunch of time there. So I'm curious, how much had you heard about this American coup growing up?

[Ramtin Arablouei]

I definitely heard stuff about it, especially from my father who would remind me all the time, like, the only reason we're here in the US is because what the US did to our democracy in 1953. Right. And I would always just kind of like brush it off, like whatever. That couldn't have happened. It's just like Iranian conspiracy theory stuff. Right. But as I grew up, I realized the US actually did interfere in Iran's politics in 1953.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

I'm gonna be honest, like, I didn't have much of an idea about this going into the episode. And it's like a really big shocking thing to not have much of an idea about because I always thought that 1979 was the real pivotal moment. Right. That the Iranian revolution that happened that year and the hostage crisis at the American Embassy, those were the things that really set the tone for like this very tense relationship between the US And Iran.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Yeah, I mean, that makes sense. Like why would you or any other American think differently? Right. Because 1979 was such an important year, but 1953 is really when it all goes down.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Doesn't it suck that your dad was right?

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Yeah, it really does. It does.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Okay, I want to get into it. It's a great story. So we're going to take you back to that pivotal moment more than 65 years ago to understand what happened during.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

The coup, why the US Made that.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Decision, and how this event redefined the U. S. Iran relationship and changed the world.

[Anya Grundmann]

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[Michelle Lance]

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[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

They call you Lady Luck.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

August 16, 1953.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

At times, you have a very unladylike.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Way of running out.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

In the early morning of August 16, 1953, American agents were hiding out in a safe house at a secret location in Tehran, listening to this song, Luck Be a lady tonight.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

Luck be a lady tonight.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

They were waiting to hear whether the coup they had engineered had worked. And the mood was electric. Music blasting, booze flowing, everyone celebrating a job well done.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Now remember, this is 1953. So there were no breaking news alerts, no email, no good way to deliver information fast.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

So as far as these guys knew, the coup had gone off without a hitch.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

And there was one guy who was especially happy. Kermit Roosevelt.

[Sanam Baki]

So Kermit Roosevelt was chief of the CIA's Near east and Africa division.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Like many of the figures in the early CIA, he had been born into privilege, gone to Ivy League schools. His grandfather had been Theodore Roosevelt, distant.

[Sanam Baki]

Relative of FDR as well. He was called in to help facilitate this transition.

[Stephen Kinzer]

So on July 19, 1953, Kermit Roosevelt crossed over into Iran.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

This is Stephen Kinzer. He wrote a groundbreaking book on this.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Coup called all the Shah's Men.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And Sanam Baki.

[Sanam Baki]

Oh, okay, now you can hear me.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Hello. She directs the Middle east and North Africa program at Chatham House in London.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And they were our guides through this story.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Okay, so Kermit Roosevelt entered Iran on July 19 with a pretty big mission ahead of stage. A coup to get rid of Iran's Prime Minister, Mohamed Mossadegh.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And we'll explain why in a bit.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

But the first question Roosevelt had to.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Answer, I've asked myself this was, how? So you're sent into a foreign country and your assignment is overthrow the government. What do you do? Like, what do you do on the first day, nine o' clock, you get to the office. How do you start?

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Even though the CIA had devised a plan for Roosevelt, no one was sure it would actually work. It was suddenly up to Roosevelt to destabilize a whole country.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Step one, seize control of the Iranian press.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Basically buy them off with bribes.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Turned out that the press was quite corrupt.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And soon enough, Roosevelt had columnists, editors, and reporters from most of Iran's newspapers. On his payroll. Then anti Mossadegh propaganda began printing everywhere.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Mossadegh was a Jew, a homosexual, a British agent. Anything that they thought would would outrage people.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

There was such an appetite for these stories that Iranian journalists just couldn't keep up. So Roosevelt had to recruit CIA agents back in Washington to write some of the articles for the Iranian press.

[Stephen Kinzer]

In fact, one of them later wrote a memoir, and he talked about how bizarre it was at the CIA. You had the people plotting the Iran coup, and then you had analysts on the other side who weren't aware of the COVID action. And he said, I would write an article about how Mosaddegh was an atheist and he hated God. And then a couple of days later, a guy from the other side of the hall in the analysis division would run over to my office, holding up an Iranian newspaper and saying, wow, you won't believe how the newspapers in Iran are denouncing Mossadegh. Look at this article. And I couldn't tell him I wrote that article.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Step two, recruit allies on the ground. Most importantly, the Islamic clergy or mullahs, who held a lot of power in Iran.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Kermit Roosevelt made strategic payments to a number of important mullahs in exchange for them delivering sermons denouncing Mossadegh from the pulpit as against God and irreligious.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Step three, get Iran's king, the Shah.

[Sanam Baki]

On board and convince the Iranian Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, that Mossadegh was a threat.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

This part took some persuading, though.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Yeah, because in theory at least, the Shah and the Prime Minister were meant to work together.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

But there was a lot of tension between them because for decades, Iran's parliament and Shah had a tough time sharing power. It would be a big deal for the Shah to help overthrow the prime minister, but Roosevelt saw an opening to turn them against each other.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

That included bribing the Shah's sister in exchange for her help convincing the Shah to. And there are reports that a fur coat was even part of the deal. But that tactic failed.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Eventually, Roosevelt took matters into his own hands and began meeting with the Shah almost every day at midnight in a taxicab, always in a different location. During these late night meetings, Roosevelt managed to convince the Shah that Mossadegh was a threat. And so the Shah agreed to the coup.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

And finally, step four, go to Mossadegh's house in the middle of the night, arrest him, and consolidate power in the hands of the Shah, who was more friendly towards the west than Mossadegh.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

But remember, the coup attempt failed.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

At this point, you're probably wondering why the US went to all this trouble, sending Roosevelt to Iran, having him stir up chaos in the country and ultimately trying to carry out a coup. Why were they so hell bent on getting Mossadegh out of power?

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Well, the truth is the US was dragged into the situation by Great Britain all because of one thing.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

A fifth of the world's oil supply was cut off. And nationalist feeling ran high against Britain and the western democracies.

[Stephen Kinzer]

We sometimes say that countries are blessed with resources, but sometimes resources can be a curse, particularly if you're a country that's weak because there are always strong countries that want to come and take what you have.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And Iran was cursed with a lot of oil. Oil was discovered there in 1908 and almost immediately Great Britain took an interest. And at that time, Britain was the world's biggest superpower. So they decided to strike a deal with the Iranian Shah and they needed a lot of oil.

[Stephen Kinzer]

This deal between the British and Iran was completely one sided.

[Sanam Baki]

Great Britain was taking well over 80% of the revenues while Iran was receiving about 10 to 12% of the revenues from its natural resource.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Wait, wait, a deal like that makes no sense though. Why did Iran agree to that?

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Well, yeah, it makes no sense unless you're in desperate need of money. And Iran's government in the early 20th century was desperate.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Iran during the early part of the 20th century was still ruled by the old Qajar royal dynasty. This was a very corrupt dynasty and it supported itself by selling off anything of value in Iran.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

They sold off the transportation industry, the tobacco industry, the caviar fisheries. They even sold off the country's treasury and banking industries. It was basically a free for all. And the British were first in line. Oil was by far their most valuable acquisition. And here's a fun fact. The company that controlled all of that oil was originally called the Anglo Persian Oil Company, which would later become Every.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

Day BP supplies the fuel and lubricants.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Oh, British Petroleum vehicles all over the place. So this was obviously very lucrative for them.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Very lucrative. And During World War I and 2, Iranian oil pumped life into the British war effort. So it was absolutely essential to Britain's future.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Okay, this all really helps explain the next part of the story, right? Because before he's even Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh got to work lobbying against this unfair oil deal. Hoping to get a better deal for Iran.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

He tried to negotiate a new deal with the British that would allow Iran to keep a bigger share of the.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Profits, which I'm sure freaked out the.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

British and When negotiations broke down, the British imposed a worldwide embargo on Iranian oil. Eventually, in 1951, Mosaddegh convinced the Iranian parliament to nationalize Iran's oil. And a month later, he was elected Prime Minister, which really sent the British through the roof.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

Premier Mossadegh, spearhead of the oil nationalization program, took his case to the United nations, where he remained adamant in his stand.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

So the British decided that the only solution was to get rid of Mossadegh and put in a more favorable government. And Mossadegh, sensing the British were up to something, shut down their embassy in Iran.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

And here's where I'm assuming the US Enters the picture, right?

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Right.

[Stephen Kinzer]

So they called the Americans for help, and President Truman said, no, not going to do it. He actually sent a mediator to Iran. He had Mosaddegh come to Washington to try to persuade him. But when nothing worked, he essentially told the British, there's nothing you can do. You're gonna have to swallow this like we had to swallow Mexico nationalizing its oil industry in the 30s. We didn't like it. You're just gonna have to live with this.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

But the following year, Dwight Eisenhower became president, and his thinking was a little different.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Suddenly you don't have an American president who forbids military action. But on the contrary, you have a new team that's eager to show that it's going to roll back threats to the United States. And that played right into the British hands.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Plus, this was right around the time when the Cold War was heating up and Iran happened to share a border with the Soviet Union.

[Stephen Kinzer]

So what can he do to show that he's fighting Communism? Well, he can't bomb Moscow. He's not going to invade China. You can't go after the real enemy. It's not possible. So you have to go after somebody else.

[Sanam Baki]

Iran also in this period, and I think it's important to mention there was a Communist Party known as the Tudeh that was active in Parliament, was supporting Mossadegh.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And even though, by all accounts Mossadegh was not a communist himself, the US Was still on high alert. So all these factors, A, the British want us to do it, eventually convince.

[Stephen Kinzer]

The US B, Mossadegh is threatening the world economic order to get on board.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

With Britain's plan C. We're desperate for a victory to stage a coup and overthrow Iran's Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

And yet, before this evening is over, you might give me the brush.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

At 6am the morning after the coup attempt, Roosevelt and his men tired from A night of partying tuned into the radio, but all they heard was silence and Roosevelt knew something had gone wrong. Then suddenly, the radio crackled on, military music started playing, and Mossadegh announced victory over an attempted he noticed that the Shah was nowhere to be found and immediately suspected that the Shah was behind the coup attempt. Meanwhile, the Shah knew this might happen and, fearing Mossadegh would come after him, hopped on his private plane and flew to Baghdad.

[Stephen Kinzer]

And from there he went on to Rome, where he told reporters, I'm probably going to have to look for work now because I'm obviously never going to be able to go back to Iran.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

So to recap, at the end of day two, the Shah had left Iran, Mossadegh was still in power, with no idea that the US Was behind the coup attempt, and Roosevelt had failed. But even though his bosses back in Washington told him he could go home.

[Stephen Kinzer]

After the coup failed, Kermit Roosevelt was not willing to give up that easily. I think it came a little bit from the old CIA can do mentality. I think he also sensed how weak the Iranian political establishment was. He thought he still had assets that he hadn't used.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Mossadegh wasn't out of the woods just yet.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Kermit Roosevelt had not given up and was actually was having a plan B.

[Anya Grundmann]

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[Michelle Lance]

Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail], progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Made in Cookware President and co founder Jake Kalik shares a tool that's useful for both master and newbie griller.

[Stephen Kinzer]

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[Michelle Lance]

Learn more about Made in Cookware at M a d e I-ncookware.com August 17, 1953.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

A couple days after the failed coup attempt, crowds of supporters packed the streets chanting the words Mossadegh has won and victory to the nation. It seemed like the worst was behind Mossadegh. He survived a coup attempt and lived to tell the tale. But this was the calm before the storm. Backroom dealings were happening out of sight, and the threat to Mossadegh was still very real. And we'll get to that.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

But during this momentary calm, we want to give you some insight into the man who was at the center of this whole thing. The man the US And Britain were terrified of, Mohammad Mossadegh.

[Roya Hakakian]

You get the feeling that this is a kind, fatherly person who. Who cares about the people. And he's very respectful of people. He talks to people with respect. For the first time that an Iranian politician would address them as dear fellow citizen.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

This is Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi.

[Roya Hakakian]

I'm a retired physician.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Dr. Nowruzi was born in 1942 in a town in Iran called Qasvin, and he's a Mossadegh super fan. He even created a website to honor him. Dr. Norouzi became very interested in politics from a young age.

[Roya Hakakian]

I have no idea exactly why, because we didn't even have radio in our house when I was a kid. When I was in elementary school, maybe I was very tiny and I was bullied a lot, maybe. So I wanted some sort of justice in the world.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Dr. Norouzi, like a lot of Iranians, sees Mossadegh as kind of a national hero, a sort of Gandhi for Iran. He's really become a mythical figure. But to really understand Mosaddegh, we have to find the man behind the myth.

[Stephen Kinzer]

So Mohammad Mossadegh was an Iranian aristocrat.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Again, Stephen Kinzer, his father had been.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Finance Minister for decades under the Qajar regime. His mother was a princess.

[Sanam Baki]

He held various positions at San Mbakil, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance. Elected twice to the Iranian Parliament.

[Stephen Kinzer]

He went off to be educated in Europe. He came home and began campaigning against the agreement by which the British were trying to subjugate Iran and became quite outraged at the injustices he saw around him.

[Sanam Baki]

And Mossadegh was known to be very dramatic. There are these anecdotes where he used to receive visitors in his bed, in his pajamas, for example.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Mossadegh was a pretty eccentric guy, prone to outbursts and dramatic speeches where he would cry, even pass out. And the US and Britain saw him as kind of erratic and unreliable, difficult to negotiate with, even if he was a fan of democratic ideas.

[Sanam Baki]

Very much believed in the democratic ideals and checks and balances that were necessary to curtail monarchical power at the time. And he came of age during a time where these changes also influenced the political system.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

The biggest political change he witnessed happened when Mossadegh was in his twenties. Between 1905 and 1911, Iran went through a constitutional revolution.

[Stephen Kinzer]

This was a remarkable moment in Middle Eastern history and in the history of the developing world. Iran developed a constitution in 1906. There are countries in the Middle east that don't even have a constitution today.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

The revolution sought to make Iran more democratic with things like a parliament, a constitution and a free press.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

See, for centuries, the country had been ruled by shahs or kings, with power passing from fathers to sons. But by the turn of the 20th.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Century, by the turn of the 20th century, the corrupt, irresponsible business dealings of the shahs were driving the Iranian economy straight into the ground, which made the shahs really unpopular among the people.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And this wasn't like normal corruption. We're talking crazy, excessive spending.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Yeah. Like, one shah had a harem of speed. 1600 people.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

1600.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

1600. And he and his many, many sons would use the national treasury as their personal piggy bank, taking money out whenever they wanted to travel around Europe.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

He also demanded that people call him one of the following names. Shah of Shahs, Asylum of the Universe, Subduer of Climate, Guardian of the Flock, or Shadow of God on Earth.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

I could see you wanting to be called Guardian of the Flag, or would you prefer Shadow of God on Earth?

[Ramtin Arablouei]

I personally like Subduer of Climate. That just feels. I don't know, but it just feels like actually we do need one right now. You're right.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Anyway, point is, the shahs were out of control, and the constitutional revolution united people across Iran against the Shah in favor of a more representative government.

[Sanam Baki]

A coalition, if you will, of intellectuals, people from the bazaar, the clergy.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

When that coalition stood up to the monarchy, violence broke out.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

And one of the most interesting stories that I came across, Ramtin, that I don't think I've told you about yet, was the story of this American guy who actually fought in Iran's constitutional revolution.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

What? Really?

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Yeah. His name was Howard Baskerville.

[Roya Hakakian]

Howard Baskerville, who was a graduate of Princeton University Seminary School.

[Sanam Baki]

Baskerville was an American missionary. And in this period, there was a lot of missionary activity coming from the United States. They would support education in various countries throughout the Middle East.

[Roya Hakakian]

He came to Iran and he identified with their plight. And Baskerville wanted to go and fight.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

On the side of the constitutionalists.

[Roya Hakakian]

Exactly.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

But the U.S. representative in Iran begged Baskerville not to join the fight.

[Roya Hakakian]

He came to him and yelled at him, no, you can't do that. You know, you shouldn't get involved in civil war of other countries. You came here to help, you know? But he wouldn't listen. And then he threatened him that if you go and involve yourself in the war, I take away your passport. He said, okay, this is my passport. He threw it at him. He said, no, just because I was born in America, that doesn't mean I'm better than them. I'm like them. I'm gonna fight for them, for their cause. And this is a good cause. Unfortunately, he dies just the first hour of a battle. And by the way, Baskerville, his sculpture was installed in Constitutional hall in Tabriz and his tomb is like a worship place. So Iranians extrapolated these missionaries action to America as a government. So what I'm, what I'm saying is that Americans left a very good impression in Iran. Iranians loved it.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

I had never heard of this guy, Howard Baskerville.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Neither had I before this. I mean, it's really wild to think that this guy would have laid down his life for Iran's constitutional revolution. Like, think about it. How many Americans at that time even knew where Iran was, let alone go over there and fight?

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Right? And it's interesting because at that time, Britain and the Shah were the bad guys, but America was kind of an ally in their fight.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Yeah, exactly. Until they got involved. In the days after the coup attempt, however, all that seemed to matter was that Mossadegh was a man of the people and that he was still in power but out of sight. A new plot against Mossadegh was brewing.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Kermit Roosevelt's plan B.

[Michelle Lance]

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[Anya Grundmann]

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[Rund Abdelfattah]

August 19, 1953.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

Attention is focused once again on the Middle east, where events in Iran have taken a dramatic double twist.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

During the three days after the Shah fled and Roosevelt's coup attempt failed, Roosevelt.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Set the stage for his second coup attempt. And on August 19th, it began.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Hundreds and hundreds of rioters filled the streets of Tehran. And in a word, it was chaos.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

300 killed and hundreds wounded is a conservative estimate.

[Stephen Kinzer]

And his plan was this. First of all, hire gangs of Iranians through people who controlled criminal protection rackets and pay them to go out on the street and cause chaos.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

So Roosevelt actually paid criminals and gang members to storm into the city, beat.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Up people in the streets, break shop.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Windows, shoot your guns into mosques, and.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

While doing all that, yell, we love Mosaddegh.

[Stephen Kinzer]

We love Communism. And then he hired a second mob to attack the first mob, which led.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

To bloody, violent clashes between the two mobs.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

And the really trippy thing was that.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Everybody involved, everybody involved in the battles was being paid to be there. But what they didn't know was they were being paid by the same source, the CIA.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And all of this was designed to create confusion and to signal that Mossadegh was the source of the violence in the country, that he was losing control, which was becoming more and more true.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Mossadegh refused to send the police out because he said, well, they're peaceful demonstrators. People should be allowed to say what they want. He truly was too naive to grasp what was happening.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

And this brings us to the final part of Roosevelt's plan to get rid of Mossadegh once and for all. Roosevelt ordered both mobs to head to Mossadegh's house.

[Stephen Kinzer]

So a giant crowd surrounded Mossadegh's house.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Shouting insults and throwing stones.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Then who should show up? But several police and military commanders, including a couple with tanks, people who Kermit Roosevelt had bribed to participate.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Those officers began opening fire on Mossadegh's house. While inside, Mossadegh and a few of his closest advisors huddled together.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Tells them, I want to die here in the house. But somehow they managed to drag him out a back window. They got him over a fence, he fled, the house was looted, and immediately thereafter, Kermit Roosevelt went to get his savior, General, who he'd been hiding in a safe house, brought the guy to a radio station, and the guy proclaimed himself as new leader of Iran.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

So this guy, General Zahedi, was put in power as a placeholder until the Shah, who, remember, had fled to Rome, could return. Mossadegh eventually turned himself in. And just like that, with a couple of chess moves, Kermit Roosevelt's plan ushered Iran into a new era.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

The Shah, who had fled to Rome, comes home, backed by General Zahedi, military strongman who engineered his return to power.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Everything Mossadegh was, the Shah was not.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Which isn't really surprising given the corruption of the Shahs.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

The Shah then ruled over Iran like a dictator for 25 years. And the Western powers, including the US, didn't really care because it gave them easy access to Iran's oil.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

During that time, the Shah did everything in his power to get rid of any trace of the Mossadegh era.

[Roya Hakakian]

Mossaddegh's name was banned again. Dr. Nowruzi, you don't hear anything about Mossadegh after the coup. And that was the time I was actually in high school. I don't remember anything, you know, much.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Mossadegh, the coup, they were off limits. Things that the Iranian government wanted people to forget.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Under these conditions, Mossadegh became a sort of legend, a symbol of Iran's lost potential.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

The CIA only officially acknowledged its role in the coup in 2013, 60 years.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Later, in case you're wondering what happened.

[Stephen Kinzer]

To Mossadegh, so he turned himself in.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

In the quick shift of power, Mossadegh was finally apprehended and awaits trial, and.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Was placed on trial, was convicted of treason and sentenced to a prison term, followed by life under house arrest. A couple of his closest advisors were executed. There were hundreds of other executions of people who were suspected to be disloyal in the military. And Mossadegh remained almost a taboo figure almost for the rest of his life.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

As for Kermit Roosevelt, Kermit Roosevelt stayed.

[Stephen Kinzer]

In Tehran to wait for the Shah to come back from Rome, and then arranged a farewell meeting with the Shah before leaving Iran. The Shah greeted him with a toast, and he said, I owe my throne to God, my people, and you.

[Anya Grundmann]

He was right.

[Stephen Kinzer]

Although it might not be the right order. So Kermit Roosevelt went home, and of course, he was welcomed jubilantly back in Washington as a kind of a conquering hero. He went on to more years at the CIA, then later left, became an oil consultant.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Oh, and speaking of oil, the Holy Grail of Resources that started this whole thing. As you might expect, Iranians still ended up with a pretty bad deal. After the coup was said and done.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

Iranian oil may again flow westward.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Okay, so given all this, fundamentalism took hold with a furious resentment built up against the Shah.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

The Shah declared martial law in most of Iran cities.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And in 1979, Iranians reached a breaking point and revolted against the Shah.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

The crowd shouted, death to the Shah.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

The Shah fled Iran and the clergy assumed control of the country. That same year, a hostage crisis unfolded at the American Embassy.

[Dr. Ibrahim Noruzi]

CBS News. Young Iranians, described as students acting with the blessing of Ayatollah Khomeini, have occupied the American Embassy in Tehran. After 30 days of unsuccessfully trying to get the American hostages out of Tehran, the government of the United States is now trying to get the deposed Shah of Iran out of this country. And there is no sign tonight that either problem is likely to be solved soon.

[Kermit Roosevelt]

In 1979, the 1953 coup was invoked as justification for seizing the American Embassy. The argument was at the time that these diplomats, these American diplomats inside the embassy, were about to do what Americans had done in Iran, overthrowing Mossadegh and restoring the Shah. And they were about to do the same thing. And therefore they justified to the public why they needed to shut the embassy down.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

This is Roya Hakakian. She writes a lot about this time in Iran's history. And the subject is deeply personal for.

[Kermit Roosevelt]

Her as someone who was born and raised in Iran during the tumultuous years of the Iranian revolution and its aftermath.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

And Roya challenged everything we thought we knew about this story, because up until now we thought the basic story was pre1953. US and Iran are pretty chill. Britain is the bad guy. 1953 coup happens, the US installs a dictator in Iran, and eventually the people respond with a revolution and hostage crisis. And the US and Iran become mortal enemies.

[Kermit Roosevelt]

So that is the narrative that was presented at the time. It was wrong for the US to intervene, but at the same time, this isn't the whole story. And it tells only a very small part of what why Iran has been stuck in this place for so long.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Roya says that narrative lets one group off the hook way too easily. Iran's clergy.

[Kermit Roosevelt]

A piece that's missing from the way this narrative has been told is the fact that Kermit Roosevelt decides very wisely, obviously, to go pay a visit to the Grand Ayatollah. And, you know, history changes course after he does that.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

So remember when Roosevelt got help from the mullahs to carry out his plan B after that first coup attempt failed. Well, Roya thinks that moment was the real game changer. She says Iran's clergy has been conspiring behind the scenes for a long time to oppose democracy in Iran.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

She says they saw a chance to undermine democracy in 1953. And then in 1979 when it seemed like democracy would be the result of the revolution, they saw another opportunity to take power. And they did this all while invoking Mossadegh's name.

[Kermit Roosevelt]

Yes, yes, it's really, truly ironic because by 1979, Mossadegh is long dead, but his legacy is not. So while he himself was completely axed by the clerical powers at the time, his narrative, his legacy, became very useful to the regime.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

In other words, it's a mistake to put all the blame for Iran's problems on the US intervention in 1953 that the Iranian clergy have played a part too.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

I hear what Roya's saying. Iran's mullahs have definitely done a number on the country and there's plenty of blame to go around between the US and Iran, especially since 1979.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

There's a long list of back and forth grievances that have added to and fueled the tension.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

But you can still make the argument that the original sin of the U S Iran relationship was what happened in August 1953 and that that set the.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Tone for everything to follow.

[Stephen Kinzer]

In the United States. U S Iran relations begin and end with the hostage crisis. That's the moment that is the key turning point and the source of everything. From the Iranian perspective, things are very different. Iranian and American perceptions, they're like parallel train tracks that just keep running parallel. They never coincide.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

That's it for our first episode. I'm Ramtin Arablouei. I'm Rund Abdelfattah and you've been listening to Throughline.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Our show was produced by me and Ramtin.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Our team includes Jamie York, Jordana Hochman, Lawrence Wu.

[Michelle Lance]

Yo, yo, it's Michelle Lance, Grace Nigiri.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Thank you also to Larry Kaplow for his editing help and Greta Pittinger for her help backtracking.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Our music was composed by Drop Electric.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And special thanks to Anya Grundmann, Chris.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

Turpin, Mathilde Piard and Steve Nelson for.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

Working so hard to make this show.

[Rund Abdelfattah]

A reality and nodded Arab Louie Prompting's dad, who helped us out with some translations.

[Ramtin Arablouei]

And let's keep the conversation going. If you have an idea or thoughts on the episode, send us an email to throughlinepr.org thanks for listening.

[Anya Grundmann]

This message comes from NPR. Sponsor 1Password Secure access to your online world, from emails to banking, so you can protect what matters most with 1Password. For a free two week trial, go to 1Password.com NPR this message comes from.

[Michelle Lance]

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