Behind the 1953 coup in Iran : thugs, turncoats, soldiers, and spooks

348 Pages·2014·2.87 MB·English

by  Rāhnamā

Behindthe1953CoupinIran
Thugs,Turncoats,Soldiers,andSpooks
AliRahnema’snewestworkisameticuloushistoricalreconstructionof
the events surrounding the Iranian coup d’état of 1953 that led to the
overthrowofMohammedMosaddeqandhisgovernment.Mosaddeq’s
removal from power has probably attracted more attention than any
othereventthatoccurredduringhistenurebecauseoftheroleofforeign
involvement;thepolitical,economicandsocialimpactonIran;andthe
long-termimpacttheoustinghadonIran–USrelations.
Drawing on a wealth of American, British and Iranian sources,
Rahnemaclosely examines the four-dayperiod between the first failed
coupandthesecondsuccessfulattempt,investigatinginfinedetailhow
the two coups were conceptualized, rationalized and then executed by
playersonboththeAnglo-AmericanandIraniansides.Throughpains-
takingresearchintolittle-studied sources,Rahnemacastsnewlight on
howasmallgroupofhighlyinfluentialpro-Britainpoliticiansandpower
brokerswithimportantconnectionsrevisitedtherealitiesontheground
withtheCIAoperativesdispatchedtoIranandhowtheyrecalibrateda
new–andultimatelysuccessful–operationalplan.
Ali Rahnema is Professor of Economics and director of the master’s
programme in Middle East and Islamic studies at the American
UniversityofParis.HispublicationsincludeSuperstitionasIdeologyin
IranianPolitics(Cambridge,2011)andAnIslamicUtopian:APolitical
BiographyofAliShariati,secondedition(2014).

1953
Behind the Coup in Iran
Thugs, Turncoats, Soldiers, and Spooks
ALI RAHNEMA
TheAmericanUniversityofParis
UniversityPrintingHouse,Cambridgecb28bs,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107076068
©AliRahnema2015
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2015
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Rahnama,‘Ali.
Behindthe1953coupinIran:thugs,turncoats,soldiers,spooks/AliRahnema,The
AmericanUniversityofParis.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
isbn978-1-107-07606-8
1. Iran–History–Coupd’état,1953. I. Title.
ds316.6.r35 2014
955.0503–dc23
2014020025
isbn978-1-107-07606-8Hardback
isbn978-1-107-42975-8Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
urlsforexternalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublication
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
TothememoryofAmirHoushangKeshavarz-Sadr
GlowingRayofGraceandIntegrity

Contents
Prefaceandacknowledgements pageix
Thecoupd’étatchronology:fromideatoimplementation xv
Introduction 1
1 TheBritishreactiontoMosaddeqinpower:
“MossiegrabsBritain’soil–butNavytotherescue”
(DailyExpress) 11
2 Mosaddeq’soppositionstrikes:testingtactics 34
3 Whobeckonedandwhoexecutedon28February
(9Esfand)? 49
4 TPAJAX:company(CIA)commandersandfirm(SIS)
functionariesoperationalizingthecoupidea 60
5 TheCIA-affiliatedorganizations:propagandaandcombat 79
6 Theprecisioncoupflops:backtothedrawing-board 95
7 Secondcoupcapabilitiesofthemilitarynetworks 110
8 Aviablehome-spuncoup 124
9 Thecruciallast-minutepreparations 138
10 Thesecondcoupbeginswiththepincermovement
ofthethugs 155
11 Coupagentsoccupyingthecitycentre 174
12 Attackingministriesandpro-Mosaddeqbuildings 193
13 Theenigmaofthetanks:betrayalorincompetence? 204
14 Mosaddeqoverthrown 221
15 Religiousrepresentativesandthecoup 235
vii
viii Contents
16 Whydidthesecondcoupsucceed? 249
17 Mosaddeq’sexit:legaltransferofpowerorcoupd’état? 270
Conclusion 289
Biographicalnotesofkeyfigures 298
Bibliography 311
Index 315