Iran’s 1953 Coup that Wasn’t

NIDS Analyst, Aaron Holland and NIDS Fellow Joe Buff argue that the removal of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq was not a coup but a legitimate act by the Shah to preserve Iran’s constitutional monarchy against Mosaddeq’s unconstitutional actions, including his attempts to nationalize oil and align with the Soviet Union. The authors challenge the popular narrative that the CIA and UK orchestrated a coup, suggesting the intervention was to maintain constitutional order amidst geopolitical tensions.