OIL, POWER AND REVOLUTION: HOW A 1950s COUP STILL SHAPES IRAN TODAY
In the early 1950s, Iran had something rare in the region a democratically elected leader. That man was Mohammad Mosaddegh, a reformist prime minister backed by popular support and a parliament that sought greater control over the nation’s vast oil wealth.
But his push to nationalise Iran’s oil industry alarmed Western powers. In 1953, intelligence agencies from the United States and the United Kingdom secretly backed a coup that removed Mosaddegh from power.
In his place, they strengthened the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah, transforming Iran’s fragile democracy into an authoritarian monarchy.
The move fuelled decades of resentment among Iranians. That anger finally exploded during the Iranian Revolution, which toppled the Shah and brought the current Islamic Republic to power.
Now, more than seventy years later, talk of regime change in Iran is once again circulating. And critics say the underlying motive may look strikingly familiar: strategic control of energy routes especially the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of the world’s oil supply flows.