'Operation Ajax' was the codename for the US and UK-backed 1953 Iranian coup. The eponymous comic, available both in print and as an app, is a a great way to learn about this important historical event.
Here's what was supposed to be a quick summary of the event and its legacy:
In the first half of the 20th century, Iran's oil fields were owned and controlled by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), majority owned by the British government. The Iranians felt it was a bad deal: oil workers had poor rights and working conditions; oil wealth was being sucked out of the country into British hands. Iran had become a constitutional democracy in 1905: the royal family persisted with reduced powers; decisions were made by parliament and prime minister.
Mohammad Mossadegh and his party campaigned for the nationalization of the Iranian Oil Industry. They won the election and passed the nationalization bill, which would mean Britain and Iran splitting oil profits 50-50.
The British did not want this. They pulled their staff and resources out of Iran, used the British Navy to seize any oil tankers leaving the country, and arrested anyone who purchased oil from Iran - because it was the stolen property of AIOC.
Meanwhile, Mossadegh's regime was implementing various reforms and following his dream of a modern, economically self-sufficient Iran: women's suffrage, worker's rights, investing in development projects and infrastructure. But it was difficult, what with the trade embargoes and the economic sanctions and the foreign agents trying to destabilize the country.
Eventually, the British enlisted the help of the Americans in dealing with Iran. They told the world the Iranian regime was a communist puppet about to give control of Iran's oil to the Soviets.
Hiding in the basement of America's embassy in Tehran, CIA and MI6 agents orchestrated the coup. They bought off whoever they could, and convinced military leaders to restore the monarchy's power and glory. They spread propaganda to turn people against the regime and yearn for the monarchical days. They hired fake communists to trash mosques while cheering for Mossadegh.
And so, as paid fake communist protesters clashed with paid royalist protesters, the bought-off army swooped in and took control. Mossadegh was tried for treason, and the Shah (King) of Iran had his powers restored.
AIOC retook control of Iran's oil, and became British Petroleum, BP. The Americans wanted a share of the oil profits as a "Thankyou for helping with the coup d'etat." The British ended up with only 20 percent of the oil profits - less than they would have had if they'd agreed to Mossadegh's terms.
This event reverberates through history to the present day in so many, many ways.
It taught Middle Eastern countries a lesson: go along with Western corporate interests and you'll be fine. Promote democracy and nationalism, and we will crush you.
Emboldened by the success of the Iranian coup, the CIA was more confident orchestrating coups elsewhere in the world: Guatemala, Chile, Nicaragua, oh so many more coups.
For the next two decades the Shah of Iran was a close ally of the United States, but also a dictator whose secret police would ruthlessly crush any opposition groups. Frustration at his rule eventually exploded in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when the monarchy was deposed (the Shah fled to the US) and Iran became the anti-West Islamist theocracy we know to this day. Iran's isolationism hearkens back to Mossadegh's dream of an independent self-sufficient Iran.
The revolutionists knew the CIA-MI6 agents had used the embassy as their base in 1953, so targeted it during the 1979 hostage crisis (filmed as 'Argo').
The Islamic Revolution freaked out Iraq - ruled by Saddam Hussein - and the US, who became allies against a common enemy. The US supplied Iraq with weapons during the Iran-Iraq War. I'm sure you're aware how the West's partnership with Saddam Hussein didn't end well...
The Islamic Revolution also influenced the Soviet's decision to invade Afghanistan, to curb the rise of Islamic groups - jihadists - opposed to the country's new communist regime. Because Cold War, the West supplied arms to the Afghani jihadists, because they shared a common enemy: communism. A young Osama Bin Laden, fresh out of university, joined the Afghani jihadists to fight the Soviets. A few years later he founded al-Qaeda...
Ah! My head! The history! It is too much! Soviet failure against the West-armed jihadists contributed to the fall of the USSR (non-Russian Soviet republics now knew the Red Army was not invincible - breaking away from Moscow's control was possible), which led to Putin's Russia. From the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 to the US invasion 2001, Afghanistan was left in a period of near-constant civil war, with most of the country controlled by the Taliban...
This event is so shatteringly important to world history, the least we can do is know about it.
