Operation+Ajax

=Operation Ajax= (1953 ) A CIA headed coup d'etat of the Iranian government lead by Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. Operation Ajax was a response to the Iranian nationalization of the Anglo-Persian (later re-named Anglo-Iranian) Oil Company which was a major source of British oil; the British government held a large amount of stock in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company which was also the main oil supplier of the British Royal Navy.

The main reason for the Iranian nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) was that the AIOC extracted large amounts of an Iranian natural resource which was then sold for a huge profit with Iranians receiving relatively little payment - a fact that enraged many Iranians including Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. Iranian anger was further inflamed by the fact that AIOC workers (many of which were Iranian) recieved little pay and were faced with poor working and living conditions compared to their British counterparts. Thus, the AIOC was seen as symbol of British colonialism.

The nationalization of Anglo-Iranian was a major blow to British economic interests and as a result the British sought the help of their American allies. Initial efforts to persuade the American government into supporting actions against Iran failed. The Truman administration sympathized with the Iranian people and viewed the AIOC as a remnant of British colonialism. However, the British succeeded in winning the support of Eisenhower by playing on American Cold War fears. The British convinced the Eisenhower administration that if action was not taken against Mossadegh, Iran would fall under Soviet influence and control. Thus the stage was set for Operation Ajax.

Operation Ajax was planned with the aid of British intelligence and carried out by the American CIA officer, Kermit Roosevelt Jr. (grandson of Theodore Roosevelt). The CIA lead coup removed Mohammed Mossadegh as Prime Minister and in his place established the Iranian Gerneral Zahedi. The coup was made possible by two decrees signed by Mohammed Reza Shah. Theses decrees "played an indispensable role in the coup" by providing "not just a fig leaf of legality but the operation's central organizing principle" by denouncing Mossadegh's government (Kinzer).

It should be noted that the position of "Shah" is equivalent to that of a King. Under Mossadegh, the Shah's power and influence had diminished. In cooperating with the US and Britain, Mohammed Reza Shah was promised that the powers and privileges which he had been stripped of (a reduced personal budget, direct communication with foreign diplomats, and the transfer of royal lands to the state) would be restored to him.

Kinzer, Stephen. __All the Shah’s Men__. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2003..