In part 1 we examined the early
history of the West’s domination of Persian natural resources, especially the
establishment and rise of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company which led to multiple 20th-century
British interventions in Iranian politics in an attempt to ensure permanent
access to oil. Part 2 tells the story of Operation Ajax.
“The Empire Must Go On”
Once Europe erupted in the world war (WWI), the British dispatched their
armed forces to refineries all over Iran in order to protect what
they considered their property – Iranian oil. After the
cessation of hostilities in 1919, the British bribed and intimidated the new
regime of Ahmad Shah into accepting the terms of the much hated Anglo-Persian
Agreement which in all but name, made Iran a
protectorate of the British Empire. No longer would the
Iranians control their own army, transportation system, and communications
network. It all passed under the control British occupiers and with it
the last vestiges of Iranian sovereignty. This once again ignited the fervent
nationalist spirit across Iran and new rounds of protests and
opposition.
Even the U.S. president, Woodrow Wilson, disapproved of the
agreement. But, true to their colonial and imperialist spirit, the
British rebuffed such protestations and opposition by saying, “These people have got to be
taught at whatever cost to them, that they cannot get on without us. I
don’t at all mind their noses being rubbed in the dust.” The
empire must go on.
The opening sequence from the 2012 movie ‘Argo’ features a brief
history of aggressive Western intervention which shaped modern Iran.
And go on it did, fueled by the black gold that flowed beneath
the Iranian deserts. For the next thirty years, relations between the Iranians
and the British revolved mainly around oil. The British deposed
and installed new kings, and prime ministers and members of Iranian parliament
were bought off to help ensure the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (by that time renamed
the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, or AIOC) had a free hand in the exploration, refining, and exportation of
Iranian oil. For that was indeed the bottom line for the
British – the Iranian venture was extremely profitable for them.
Churchill’s Dream Prize
Indeed, for Churchill, it was, “a prize from fairyland beyond our wildest dreams.”
When they started in 1913, the British were extracting only 5,000 barrels of
oils per day, and by 1950 they were extracting 664,000 per day. Had the
wealth from the oil been humanely shared with the Iranian people, the Iranians
themselves likely would have seen such growth as part of a mutually beneficial
relationship and endeared them to the English. However, the long list of
grievances hardened the hearts of the average Iranians and confirmed what they
had long known: Britain was an empire whose only objective was preserving its
interests, whatever the costs to Iranians, notwithstanding British
protestations to the contrary.
It is easy enough, however, to see why the British were prepared
to go to the extreme to protect their direct access to cheap Iranian oil.
Iranian oil was vital, not only to the Royal Navy, but to the entire economy of
Great Britain and their way of life. It fueled their industries and growing
automobile culture. The AIOC was a vast company with seemingly limitless
profits and resources, yet it sought still more from the Iranians. From the British perspective
the situation seemed like good capitalism, but from the perspective of the
average Iranian, their British “benefactors” were greedy imperialists who were
prepared to suck Iran dry.
The majles (Iranian parliament, which held its first session in
1906), weakened though it was, gradually regained strength throughout the late
20s, 30s, and 40s, mainly from the rise of anti-British and anti-Shah sentiment
coursing through the nation. The majles forced the Shah and the oil
companies to come to the negotiating table time and an again seeking just
compensation and to redress the wrongs commited by the oil company. The list of
grievances was indeed long. At the top was the irregular bookkeeping that
systematically deprived them of their contractual rights to royalties.
Instead of calculating the Iranian 20 percent before taxes, the British calculated
the Iranians their portion after they had already sent huge sums to the British
treasury, which meant, the Iranians received much smaller royalties.
Recently declassified documents like the above ‘The Battle for
Iran, 1953’ (Contents page: view more here) tell the CIA’s secret internal
history of the 1953 coup. It was only in 2013 that the
CIA formally acknowledged its role in bringing down the Mossadegh government
after the agency was forced to declassify and publish secret
documents related to Operation Ajax, (and first disclosed by The New York Times’ James Risen)
and to this day most Americans are unaware that it happened.
Additionally, in 1943 the British stubbornly, and in the eyes of
the Iranians, greedily, refused
to renegotiate their contract to reflect the growing global trend to fairer and
more equal contracts. Venezuela signed a 50/50 deal with
the foreign companies refining its oil; Aramco, an American oil company, signed
a 50/50 deal with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia; and Mexico took advantage of the
chaos of WWII and did the unthinkable and completely nationalized American and
British oil companies. The Iranians felt it was time that the British
dealt justly and fairly with them as well.
Not only did the British fail to fairly compensate the Iranians
for their oil, they only paid them in sterling, effectively barring them from
buying from other countries and forcing them to buy from the British.
They also secretly conducted geological explorations without the consent of the
Iranian government, much less the Iranian people. These explorations,
plus the building of pipelines, often laid waist to forests, water sources, and
other natural resources resulting in massive ecological disasters. To add
insult to injury, the British often imported labor from neighboring countries,
rather then giving the Iranians the opportunity to work and make a living, much
less take leading and managerial positions, in their nation’s most vital
industry. Squalid company housing, hospitals, and working
conditions coupled with firings and military action against unions were also on
the Iranians’ long list of grievances against the oil company.
The Shah meets the CIA
Beginning in the mid-40s tensions between Iranian workers and
the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company came to a critical impasse. In July of
1945 7,500 AIOC workers led an unsuccessful strike demanding equal pay,
decent housing, and paid Fridays. They took to the streets again in May
of 1946 with similarly disappointing results. It wasn’t until May of 1946
when 50,000 workers organized the greatest strike in Iranian history that the
AIOC realized it had no way forward unless it made some concessions, though
they probably came too little, too late to turn the tide of
anti-imperialism/colonialism felt by the vast majority of Iranians.
Negotiations between the majles and the AIOC stalled and
stagnated for the next 5 years. With each passing year, the bitterness
and resentment grew among the Iranian people who were tired of decades of what
they felt was theft and national humiliation at the hands of British
colonialists. The
thirty-year-old monarch, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi did little to assist his
countrymen in redressing the wrongs of the British. In
fact, at the height of the conflict between the majles and the AIOC, the young
Shah abandoned Iran and set off on an American expedition where he mingled with
the most wealthy and powerful of America’s elites.
In November of 1949, at the invitation of Allen Dulles, the future
head of CIA introduced Mohammed Reza Shah to the members of the newly formed
Overseas Consultants Inc. Mohammed Reza
singlehandedly committed his country to paying the OCI an astonishing $650
million to complete a massive development project in
Iran. The deal was not well received at home since the majles had not
approved of it or been consulted. It did nothing more than stoke the
flames of the revolution that much more. The final straw that broke the
proverbial camel’s back came in March of 1951.
Nationalizing Oil under Mohammed Mossadegh
Having failed to reach a just and equitable agreement with the
AIOC, the majles felt it had no other recourse than to take the course of
action that the Mexicans had taken a decade before and nationalize their oil industry.
In March of 1951 the majles voted to take that fateful step and a few days
later they elected the charismatic nationalist, Mohammed Mossadegh to the
office of prime minister. One
of the first casualties of the Mossadegh-led majles was the $650 million OCI
deal, an act Allen Dulles would remember with bitter resentment. Mossadegh
believed with every ounce of his body that the Iranian oil fundamentally
belonged to the Iranians. Prior agreements with corrupt kings could not
and should not be honored since they were made without the knowledge or consent
of the people through their elected officials.
Meanwhile the British took no notice of these legitimate claims
and by June British warships menaced the Iranian coast and plans had been drawn involving
seventy thousand troops invading Iran to seize what it claimed were British oil
fields. The American ambassador, Henry Grady, warned the Truman
administration that the British intransigence and belligerence was utter folly
and could easily trigger World War III. Truman, in no uncertain terms,
informed Churchill that the United States would not agree to or support the
overthrow of another democratically elected government.
Even after nationalization, the Iranians sought to compensate
the British by sharing 25 percent of the net profits of the oil
operation. It also guaranteed that the British citizens who stayed and
worked for the newly formed Iranian Oil Company would be welcome to stay.
It would also continue to sell the oil exactly as the British had done making
sure not to disrupt the long-established system of controls. The British
were not content with these compromises and stubbornly insisted on a return to
the status quo where they, and they alone owned, managed, and controlled every
aspect of the Iranian oil industry. “We English have had hundreds of years of experience on how to
treat the natives. Socialism is all right back home, but out here you
have to be the master” boasted one British minister.
British Dirty Tricks, Eisenhower, and the Dulles Brothers
Over the next year the British contemplated every trick they had
learned in their long years of empire building: sabotage, assassination,
bribery, and even a full-on military invasion. But Truman’s
opposition to regime change limited their options. So in the meantime,
they settled on imposing a crippling blockade of Iranian ports so that no
country could buy oil from the Iranians. Any tankers caught trying to
slip through would be detained.
The British also took their case to the International Court of
Justice in the hopes of getting the international community to bolster its
position only to be told that the ICJ had no jurisdiction in the case since it
involved agreements between Iran and a private company. They took their
case once again to the UN in New York in the fall of 1952 but met a brick wall
there as well. Mohammed
Mossadegh was present and he spoke forcefully and eloquently about the plight
of the Iranians and about the history of the AIOC’s predations.
His speech was well received especially by those leaders who themselves had
been brought to power on the waves
of nationalism in Asia, Africa, and South America.
Having exhausted all resources, the British resolved to covertly
overthrow Mohammed Mossadegh, even though 95-98 percent
of the population of Iran time and time again favored him as their one true
leader in elections and referendums. They could not count on the Truman
administration for support, so they bided their time until after the 1952 elections
which could bring someone that was more to their way of thinking or could be
brought around to it. They
found such a men in Dwight Eisenhower, in his Secretary of State, Foster
Dulles, and in Allen Dulles, head of the CIA.
A Deep State Purge
The British argument for overthrow rested on the necessity to
regain the control of the oil industry away from the Iranians. However,
that argument alone would not be enough to win over Eisenhower and
Dulles. All
three men were ardent anti-communist and the British used that to their
advantage painting Mossadegh as a communist at worst and at best, a weak leader
whose government could easily fall which could lead to a Soviet takeover of
Iran. These were all the reasons and proofs Eisenhower
and Dulles needed. Without consulting experts or career diplomats on
Iranian affairs they forged ahead with their plan to help the British topple
Mossadegh.
They even went so far as to dismiss any who disagreed with them.
One such unfortunate was none other than the chief of the CIA field office in
Tehran, Roger Goiran. If anybody knew what the realities on the ground
were, it was he. Having learned of the plot he was repulsed by the idea
and thought that regime overthrow in the cause of a preemptive strike of sorts
in order to prevent the Soviets from theoretically moving in was too dramatic a
move. His objection was noted after which he was quickly relieved of his
duties and replaced by Kermit Roosevelt, one of the conspirators.
Ultimately, seasoned intelligence veteran Goiran disagreed with and was
subsequently purged by the ‘deep state‘ as Stephen Kinzer’s
book All the Shah’s Men (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey,
2003, pg. 164) explains:
Goiran
had built a formidable intelligence network, known by the code name Bedamn,
that was engaged
in propaganda activities aimed at blackening the image of the Soviet Union in
Iran. It also stood ready to launch a nationwide campaign
of subversion and sabotage in case of a communist coup. The Bedamn network
consisted of more than one hundred agents and had an annual budget of $1
million–quite considerable, in light of the fact that the CIA’s total worldwide
budget for covert operations was just $82 million. Now Goiran was being asked to
use his network in a coup against Mossadegh. He believed
that this would be a great mistake and warned that if the coup was carried out, Iranians would forever
view the United States as a supporter of what he called “Anglo-French
colonialism.” His opposition was so resolute that Allen
Dulles had to remove him from his post.
This was new and unchartered territory for the United States in
Iran or anywhere. Up to then, most Iranians had a positive view of
America and look up to Americans because of their own revolutionary history,
constitution, form of government, and insistence on the rule of law.
Operation Ajax Launched with False Flag subversion
The Iranians viewed the Americans as allies and friends.
By undertaking regime change, the Americans risked losing the goodwill of the
Iranians and earning their much-deserved scorn. Nevertheless, Kermit Roosevelt took the reins
of the operation and plotted his coup for several months. Once
he was given the green light by the Dulles brothers and President Eisenhower,
Roosevelt set his plan in motion. In late July of 1953 he crossed over
into Iran under an assumed name and headed directly to Tehran to meet up with
the valuable Iranian, British, and American assets. They immediately set out to
subvert the Mossadegh government by paying off street gangs, corrupt mullas,
and radio stations to create entirely fabricated anti-Mossadegh protests.
They also bribed members of the majles to support a vote of no
confidence. Mossadegh caught on to the plot and immediately dissolved the
assembly, denying the conspirators any chance at a quasi-legal way of deposing
him.
Once plan A crumbled, Roosevelt put plan B into action which
called for the Shah himself to sign royal decrees dismissing Mossadegh from
office and appointing General Fazlollah Zahedi as his new prime minister.
The Shah demurred, going so far as running away to the Caspian Sea. In
the end, Roosevelt caught up with him and convinced him to sign.
On the night of August 14, 1953, Roosevelt sent Colonel Nassiri
and a contingency of soldiers to Mossadegh’s house. Their task was to present
the royal decrees to Mossadegh and take him into custody. To their
surprise, Mossadegh had been tipped off about the plot and had in the shadows a
contingency of officers of his own ready to take Col. Nassiri and his men into
custody. The
following morning, Radio Tehran announced that the government had successfully
foiled the plot by the Shah and foreign elements to overthrow the government.
Having heard the news, Roosevelt’s CIA superiors urged him to
give up the plot and return home. However, not being one to back down,
Roosevelt forged ahead. For the next 4 days, through his Iranians assets
Roosevelt hired more street gangs to simultaneously put on pro and anti
Mossedegh demonstrations. The demonstrations had the desired effect of plunging Tehran into an abyss
of violence and lawlessness.
Coup d’etat
On August 19th the violence reached its climax paving the way
for the final part of Roosevelt’s plan: a full-on military coup. At noon the military and
police officers Roosevelt had bribed, stormed and took control of the foreign
ministry, the central police station, the headquarters of the army’s general
staff, and laid siege to Mossadegh’s house. Mossadegh narrowly managed to
escape, but turned himself in the following day to General Fazlollah
Zahedi, not wanting to be the cause of further bloodshed. Zahedi played a large
role in the coup in cooperation with the CIA and Britain’s MI6 and would go on
to replace Mossadegh as prime minister.
The fall of Mossadegh, on August 20th, 1953 also marked the end
of Iran’s long and painful march to true and complete democracy and national
sovereignty. It also marked the beginning of a 26 year reign of
corruption and oppression in which Mohammed Reza Shah, quickly returned to
power by the 1953 coup d’état, brutally stamped out the pro-democratic reforms
of the majles, violently put down any opposition, as well as what arguably
angered the Iranians the most: the
Shah returned the oil industry back to Western corporations,
once again depriving the citizenry of the wealth that rightly belonged to them.
Iranians, unlike many average Americans who are not taught this
history in school, have always known that America was involved in the overthrow
of their democratically elected government and have thus hated the US
government ever since. This hatred was seen most vividly
in 1979 Islamic Revolution when 52 embassy staff in Tehran were held hostage
for 444 days.
It was only in 2013 that the CIA formally acknowledged its role
in bringing down the Mossadegh government after the agency was forced to declassify and publish secret
documents related to Operation Ajax, (and first disclosed by The New York Times’ James Risen)
and to this day most
Americans are unaware that it happened. Yet it is essential to
understanding the historical domino effect that American and British
interventionism played in bringing the US and Iran to their modern period
marked by decades of animosity and enduring mutual distrust.
Reprinted with permission from Zero Hedge.