By the time Dwight D. Eisenhower took office in 1953, American policy had shifted. Influenced by Churchill’s lobbying, the Dulles brothers—Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and CIA Director Allen Dulles—concluded that removing Mosaddegh was necessary to prevent a Soviet foothold in Iran.
Operation Ajax: Planning the Coup
Kermit Roosevelt and CIA Involvement
The CIA entrusted the coup operation to Kermit Roosevelt Jr., the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt. Operating from Tehran, Roosevelt coordinated with British intelligence, Iranian military officers, and royalist politicians.
The CIA and MI6 employed a mix of tactics:
-
Bribery of politicians and clerics to turn public opinion against Mosaddegh.
-
Propaganda campaigns through Iranian newspapers and radio outlets, spreading rumors that Mosaddegh was anti-Islam and aligned with communists.
-
Mobilization of street mobs, often hiring Tehran’s gang leaders and criminals to stage pro-Shah demonstrations.
-
Collaboration with the Iranian military, particularly General Fazlollah Zahedi, who was designated to replace Mosaddegh as Prime Minister.
False Start and Renewal
The first attempt at the coup in mid-August 1953 faltered. Mosaddegh, tipped off about the plot, had arrested several army officers and appeared to have neutralized the plan. The Shah fled to Baghdad and then Rome, uncertain of his future.
