George Harrell - How to Create a Coup: How the 1953 Overthrow of Iran Became a CIA Blueprint

In 1953 the CIA secretly paid for and organized a coup against Iranian Prime Minister, Mossadegh, overthrowing Iran’s parliamentary government and replacing it with the dictatorial regime of the Shah. This event, the CIA’s first coup, became a turning point in CIA history. The ease with which they were able to conduct regime change, and its apparent resounding success, encouraged the CIA to attempt to replicate their Iranian coup numerous times around the world. Thus knowing the history of the 1953 coup can help provide a context for so much of the modern history of Iran, the Middle East, the Cold War, and even 21st century geopolitics.