The financial implications of a coup must be thoroughly examined. So, how much does a coup coasts?

In April 1953, the CIA was granted a budget of 1,000,000 US dollars to fund the operation. This could be used in any way to overthrow Mosaddegh. Another important factor influencing US interests was the fear of a communist takeover and its spread in the region due to the growing influence of the Communist Tudeh Party and the Soviet Union.

As usual, the US decided that it should control a larger share of Iranian oil supplies.

Operation Ajax, also known as TPAJAX, was conceived and executed by the US Embassy in Tehran. The operation had four main parts:

• A massive propaganda campaign to ruin Mosaddegh’s reputation and accuse him of having communist affiliations
• Encouraging disturbances within Iran
• Put pressure on the Shah to select a prime minister to replace Mosaddegh
• Support Zahedi as Mosaddegh’s replacement

The operation was a collaboration between the CIA, the British government and the Shah, coordinated with his twin sister, Princess Ashraf.

Moreover, an internal CIA memorandum, entitled “Campaign to Install Pro-Western Government in Iran”, specifies that one of the CIA’s primary objectives in Iran was to “disenchant the Iranian population with the myth of Mossadegh’s patriotism, by exposing his collaboration with the Communists and his manipulation of constitutional authority to serve his own personal ambitions for power.”

The reputation of Mosaddegh was subject to deterioration as a consequence of propaganda campaigns that erroneously associated him with communism and denigrated the Iranian people. A plot was initiated with the objective of deposing the democratically elected leader.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) allocated a significant budget to facilitate the operation. The final cost is estimated to vary between $100,000 and $20 million, depending on the expenses to be counted. Following the overthrow of the Zahedi government, the Central Intelligence Agency provided the new regime with $5 million, with Zahedi himself receiving an additional $1 million.

The consequences of the coup was the subsequent Iranian Revolution (1979), which occurred 25 years later, resulted in the establishment of an Islamic republic in Iran that was anti-Western and based on the concept of Velâyat-e Faqih .¹

The following discussion will explore the manner in which the 1953 coup d’état established the foundations for the 1979 revolution.

• 1. Deepened Anti-Western Sentiment

The Iranian populace viewed the coup as a brazen act of foreign interference, which undermined national sovereignty and served to reinforce the prevailing perception of Western powers as both hostile and exploitative. This sentiment found resonance with various groups, including religious leaders and intellectuals, who perceived the coup as a symbol of Western dominance and a betrayal of Iranian interests.

• 2. The Shah’s authority was strengthened.

The military takeover effectively reinstated the Shah to his former position of authority, thereby removing a popularly elected leader and consolidating the monarchy’s hold on power. However, this also resulted in the deepening of the Shah’s reliance on Western powers, thereby engendering a sense of resentment among a significant proportion of the Iranian populace who perceived the Shah as having become a puppet of foreign interests.

• 3. Fueled Nationalist and Islamist Movements

The coup provided a unifying catalyst for both the burgeoning nationalist and Islamist movements that were experiencing a period of heightened popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. These movements regarded the Shah’s pro-Western policies and his reliance on the military as a betrayal of Iranian values and national interests.

• 4. The creation of a vacuum of legitimacy was a key element of the strategy.

The Shah’s government lost its legitimacy as a result of the coup, and an alternative political and religious groups were able to gain influence due to the vacuum of leadership that was created. This vacuum was subsequently filled by Ayatollah Khomeini and his supporters, who successfully exploited the anti-establishment sentiment and the Shah’s waning popularity.

• 5. The catalyst for the Iranian Revolution.

The sequence of events that led to the 1953 coup, in combination with the Shah’s escalatingly authoritarian policies and his mounting unpopularity, engendered a conducive environment for revolutionary action. The revolution, which commenced in 1978, ultimately succeeded in overthrowing the Shah and establishing the Islamic Republic of Iran.

1. Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, from the Persian  ولایت فقیه is the concept under discussion is that in the twelve Shia Islamic laws, which stipulates that until the reappearance of the “infallible Imam” (sometime before Judgement Day), the religious and social affairs of the Muslim world should be administered by righteous Shi’i jurists (Faqīh). In the system of absolute authority of the jurist, the Faqīh is invested with authority over all public matters, including the governance of states and all religious affairs, such as the temporary suspension of religious obligations, including the Salah prayer or Hajj pilgrimage. According to proponents, obedience to him is considered more significant than the performance of religious obligations. However, this viewpoint is not universally held among Shi’i Islamic scholars. Indeed, some contend that guardianship should be limited to a more circumscribed scope, encompassing only matters such as mediating disputes and providing guardianship for orphaned children, the mentally incapable, and others lacking someone to protect their interests. ↩︎