The 1953 Iranian coup d'etat overthrew the elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh and strengthened the power of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Mossadegh had nationalised the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, which led to a British boycott of Iranian oil and caused economic difficulty. Britain asked the United States for help, and the CIA, together with the British intelligence service MI6, organised covert operations, known as Operation Ajax, with Iranian military officers and clergy, to remove him. After a failed first attempt, pro-Shah forces seized control in the capital, and Mossadegh was arrested and tried. The coup later became a source of Iranian resentment of the West, and contributed to the 1979 revolution.
Before and after
- 23 June 1953Founding of European People's Party Group
- 26 July 1953Attack on the Moncada Barracks
- 26 July 1953Cuban Revolution
- 17 August 1953Birth of Herta Müller
- from 18 August 1953 to 19 August 19531953 Iranian coup d'état
- 19 August 1953Construction of Yad Vashem
- from 1954 to 1964Khrushchev thaw
- 1954Publication of The Lord of the Rings
- 1954Founding of Burger King
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 5 June 1967 to 10 June 1967Six-Day War
- 11 February 1990Nelson Mandela is released from prison
- from 2 August 1990 to 28 February 1991Gulf War
- from 18 December 2010 to 1 December 2012Arab Spring
- 31 January 2020Brexit
- 7 October 2023Gaza War
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.