{"id":335755,"date":"2025-08-19T12:05:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T11:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=335755"},"modified":"2025-08-19T12:05:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T11:05:04","slug":"the-1953-coup-in-iran-a-turning-point-in-dictatorship-and-foreign-domination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/the-1953-coup-in-iran-a-turning-point-in-dictatorship-and-foreign-domination\/","title":{"rendered":"The 1953 Coup in Iran: A Turning Point in Dictatorship and Foreign Domination"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Shaban
Shaban Jafari (\u201cShaban the Brainless\u201d) with pro-Shah thugs during the coup that overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh\u2019s national government on August 19, 1953<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Four-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The coup of August 19, 1953 (28 Mordad 1332) remains one of the most defining and tragic events in Iran\u2019s modern history. More than a simple political upheaval, it marked the violent suppression of a democratic government and the reimposition of dictatorship, with consequences that have continued to shape Iran\u2019s political and social life for seven decades.<\/p>\n

For historians, the coup was a watershed moment: the consolidation of foreign domination, the entrenchment of authoritarian rule, and the silencing of democratic aspirations. The overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh<\/a>\u2014who had led the national movement to reclaim Iran\u2019s oil industry from British control\u2014was executed through a sinister alliance of external imperial powers and internal reactionary forces.<\/p>\n

The Dual Nature of the Coup<\/h2>\n

The 1953 coup was the product of both foreign and domestic betrayal. On one side were the colonial powers\u2014the United States and Britain\u2014who saw their oil and geopolitical interests threatened by Mosaddegh\u2019s policies of independence. On the other side stood Iran\u2019s reactionary forces: the monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi<\/a>, elements of the military, and clerical figures such as Abolghassem Kashani and Mohammad Behbahani, who aligned themselves with foreign designs to secure their own power.<\/p>\n

This dual structure\u2014external domination and internal betrayal\u2014defined the coup and set the stage for decades of repression. It was not merely the removal of a popular leader, but the start of a systematic campaign to destroy Iran\u2019s democratic movement.<\/p>\n

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Revisiting the Legacy of Mohammad Mossadegh: A Blueprint for Democratic Governance in #Iran<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/RyeT8s4ISt<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n