American mulet *. How the US overthrew Mosaddyk in Iran
Mohammed Mosaddyk. Photo from colonelcassad.livejournal.com
Great offense
Ask any political analyst or economist about a topic that can today radically destroy the status quo of the world order, and get an immediate response: "Iran." Not a real estate crisis, not virtualization of the system-forming currency, not third world debt, but the United States’s aspiration to provoke Iran into ill-considered actions that will become a pretext for unleashing a military aggression.
I have no doubt that a thoughtful reader regards the "Iranian atomic bomb" exactly as it deserves - as a pale theatrical scenery. It is also obvious that behind the outward irrationality of the American reaction, the mundane factor, as it always has been, is a notorious oil. However, the passions around Iran are so great that they unequivocally signal a serious emotional experience. Such, for example, as a desire for revenge. And lurking behind this desire insult.
Something similar we have already seen in the drama of Saddam Hussein, whose main problem in America’s eyes was, of course, not the genocide of the Kurds, but the fact that the Iraqi leader was “his son of a bitch” and then went out of control, manifesting the blackest ingratitude. For this he was punished.
With Iran, relations with the States are both harder and more tragic. The American grievance arises from the loss of control over Iranian oil by American oil companies as a result of the 1979 Islamic revolution of the year and the seizure of 63 hostages at the embassy of Tehran in November of the same year, which were released after 444 of the day (!) Only after eight billion Iranian money was unfrozen stored in US bank accounts.
Add to this the indelible shame of the rescue operation “Eagle Claw” (April 1980), which ended with the death of eight soldiers, an airplane explosion, the loss of five helicopters and secret CIA documentation, and you will receive a vengeance installation that lasts for decades.
On the other - the Iranian - pole of tension, a counter-insult lurked, and it was so painful and so deeply rooted in the minds of the Persian people that there could be no reconciliation in the coming years.
It can be assumed that this offense is somehow connected with Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who turned the country into a raw materials appendage of the United States and Great Britain for a full quarter of a century, and handed over his people to the secret police Sawak trained in the most sophisticated torture from the Gestapo arsenal.
Something in this version, however, is in doubt. In fact, wasn’t Mohammed the legitimate heir of Reza Shah, the darling of the nation and the stronghold of the purity of the Islamic religion? What does America have to do with an unforgettable insult to it?
Operation Ajax was the first successful coup d'état carried out by the CIA in a third world country without the use of direct armed intervention. The removal of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mozaddyk from power in 1953 passed with such meager costs, so smoothly and so triumphant that the scheme based on the sabotage developments of Operation Ajax was fixed for many years by the leitmotif of United States foreign policy.
The only thing that American strategists did not take into account was the long historical memory: "Ajax" is still regarded by the Iranians as the greatest national insult, overshadowing the humiliation of even the outrage of the British during the Great Game. It is Ajax, and not the personality of Shah Mohammed Rez Pahlavi, that incites Iran’s hatred of America, infinitely complicating the reconciliation, which is so necessary for maintaining stability throughout the world.
"Bridge to Victory"
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi became for Britain a key figure in the fight against the uncontrollable from the outside Prime Minister Mossadegh, very popular among the people.
In the 1921 year, Reza Khan, a brigadier general of the Persian Cossack Guard, created in the image of the Cossack units of the tsarist army of Russia, made a military coup, putting an end to the miserable history of the Qajar dynasty.
You can guess who was behind the coup by a report sent to the 8 Ministry of Defense December 1920 by the commander of the British army in Persia, General Edmond Ironside: “In our opinion, the management of a Cossack brigade should be entrusted to such a Persian officer who would save us from unnecessary difficulties and provided a decent and honorable withdrawal of British troops. "
The Ironside diary entry sheds light on the appointment itself: “I immediately decided to appoint Reza Khan as a commander of the Cossack brigade, at least for the near future.” Lieutenant colonel Henry Smith was appointed to look after the Persian brigadier general - in the position of financial administrator.
The only thing the British didn't consider was Reza Khan's ambitions. He not only seized power in Tehran and sent the last Shah Qajar to the European exile, but also founded a new dynasty - his own: December 12 1925, the Mejlis solemnly proclaimed the Cossack brigade general ruler of Persia under the name of Reza Shah Pahlavi.
The policy of modernizing Persia with a new shah is in many ways reminiscent of Kemal Ataturk’s Turkish initiatives: intensive construction of railways, including the trans-Iranian railway, the establishment of Tehran University, the introduction of a modern education system, the ban on wearing traditional Persian dress and replacing it with European costumes, the abolition of the female veil.
Reza Shah Pahlavi did not ignore the stranglehold of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. To begin with, he unilaterally canceled the D'Arcy concession (1932 year), modestly requesting 16 percent instead of 21. The formal pretext for the demarche was the reduction of Persia’s deductions from APOC's profit from oil production in 1931 to a completely ridiculous amount - 366 thousand 782 pounds! This is despite the fact that in the same year the company transferred taxes in the amount of 1 million pounds to the British treasury.
The change in percentage from 16 to 21 seemed to Britain unheard of insolence and blasphemy. She appealed to the Hague Arbitration Court, which, however, washed its hands, inviting the parties to resolve the "financial differences" on their own. At this point, Reza Shah Pahlavi made an ingenious gesture towards Germany, which was asleep and saw how to get to the oil reserves of Persia, so necessary for the development of its industry.
It is believed that Britain was frightened of Persia’s flirting with Germany and made concessions, signing a new agreement in April 1933, but a quick glance at the document is enough to doubt this assumption. Apparently, Britain saved up such trump cards in the game against the Shah (which, let's not forget, she also brought to power), that Persia’s hopes for a happy oil future were scattered.
According to the new APOC agreement, the concession was reduced from 480 thousand square miles to 100 thousand, but extended for new 60 years (!) With the guarantee of annual minimum deductions to the treasury of Persia in the amount of 750 thousand pounds sterling. APOC not only got the opportunity to select the most oil-bearing areas for its concession, but also stipulated exemption from customs duties and import duties, and at the same time achieved Persia’s refusal from the right to terminate the contract unilaterally.
After the conclusion of the new agreement, Persia changed its name to Iran (1935 year), “Anglo-Persian Oil Company” became “Anglo-Iranian” (AIOC), and Britain received uninterrupted and for many years - the main thing! - an exclusive source of fuel supply of its economy.
In August, 1941, the unforeseen flirting of Reza Shah Pahlavi with the Germans (on the eve of the war, Germany was already the largest trading partner of Iran) was agitated by lightning occupation of Iran by Britain and the USSR under the pretext of ensuring uninterrupted fuel supplies, weapons and food of the Red Army, which took the brunt of the Wehrmacht.
The conversation was serious, grown-up, because they did it without courtesy: the modernizing Shah, so that he would not get under his feet, they would force him to renounce power and sent him first to Mauritius, and then to South Africa. The power was handed over to a limp and fearful little boy - the son of Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (September 1941 year).
So that the Iranian people would not be too sad about the occupation of the fatherland despite its neutral status, the Allies solemnly proclaimed Iran “The Bridge To Victory” - a circumstance that brightened the post-war state of passage for some time.
By 1947, the last units of the Soviet and British forces left the territory of Iran. As after the end of the First World War, the physical presence of “good old friends” was replaced by their “spiritual” guardianship: Britain was surrounded by a giant network of “engineers”, “geologists”, “oilmen” and other spies and agents of influence, and the USSR presented the Communist Party Tudeh, along with a source of anti-imperialist unrest in the northern provinces and a permanent threat to extend ideological control to Tehran itself.
The spiritual rebirth of Iran is associated with the name of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh (1881 – 1967). The son of the Qajar princess and the Persian finance minister received a brilliant university education in France and Switzerland and upon returning home (1914) declared a national revival program based on three principles: eliminating corruption, reducing government spending and eliminating foreign influence in politics and economics.
“In order for Iran to adapt the modern European system of politics and law, it needs to take a single step - to make everyone, including foreigners, respect the laws and refuse to give special privileges to anyone” - what a noble and equally unattainable axiom!
After the end of World War II, Mosaddyk headed the oil commission of the Mejlis, which for five years was engaged in a detailed study of the legal grounds and circumstances of the signing of oil agreements between Iran and the United Kingdom.
A lush bouquet of bribing officials, ministerial corruption, blackmail and direct threats surfaced. The contribution of Dr. Mosaddyk to the history of 15 in March 1951 materialized, when the Mejlis unanimously voted to nationalize the entire Iranian oil industry.
Being a civilized man, Mosaddyk categorically rejected the methods of Bolshevik confiscation, and therefore offered the AIOC to negotiate the determination of fair compensation for nationalized assets.
AIOC categorically refused negotiations, and the British government imposed an embargo on international supplies of Iranian oil, blocked the Persian Gulf with Royal ships fleet and sued the UN Hague International Court of Justice on behalf of AIOC. The court dismissed the lawsuit.
28 April 1951, in the wake of the incredible popularity of the people, Mohammed Mossadegh was unanimously appointed by the Majlis as Prime Minister of Iran. Popularity in the homeland echoed international recognition: Time magazine puts the image of Mossadegh on the cover and assigns it the title of the Person of the Year (1951).
Of course, no international authority of the “foe” would stop the British from direct armed intervention and occupation of the country, in which they had long been accustomed to stroll along Piccadilly. Another thing - the Soviet Union! If not for those damned recent allies armed with an atomic bomb and determined to eradicate imperialism in every corner of the planet!
The situation was stalemate: Mosaddyk insisted on discussing compensation for nationalization, AIOC, by imperial habit, agreed only to increase the Iranian share, and helpless British destroyers burned up the fuel that is rising every day in the Persian Gulf roads.
American mulet
In the second year of the successful production of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Sir Winston Churchill decided that it was time to nationalize it. This move had far-reaching consequences ...
The reader certainly drew attention to the fact that in the story about Iran’s insult to America, the latter appears on the scene only at the very curtain. In this circumstance, of course, the genius of the British Leo, who managed to solve personal problems in such a way as to substitute only his former colony, is having an effect!
Despite the fact that Operation Ajax was conceived by London, the execution was entrusted to CIA agents, whom the British colleagues from SIS3 provided feasible coordination support, modestly remaining in the shadows. As a result, in the measures to overthrow the government of Mosaddyk, the United States appeared under such a complete program that the historical memory of the Iranians sublimated the AIOC, due to which, in fact, all the porridge was brewed, fixated on resentment and hatred of America.
Convinced of the ineffectiveness of the economic embargo and the military blockade of Iran, Britain remembered, finally, about its main historical ridge - undercover sabotage.
Since the simple option - bribery - did not go with Mossaddeck (the poisonous ideas of the Paris Free School of Political Sciences and the Swiss University of Neuchatel were too deeply embedded in the offspring of the monarch Kajars!), We had to develop a multi-way scheme, which provided for replacing the unfriendly politician with a person capable of without tanks and bombing to resolve Britain’s economic hardships.
The Mossaddyk alternative suggested itself by itself - Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who was imprisoned by the British in 41, on the throne of the father who fell into disgrace. The piquancy of the situation, however, was that Shah Mohammed was formally already considered the head of state, although he was de facto removed from office - not so much by the energetic prime minister as by the limitations of the constitution.
The difficulties with the constitution, however, could not be compared with the scale of popularity of Mossadegh, which was unconditionally supported by nationalists, religious leaders, members of the Mejlis and the masses. In such circumstances, formal displacement from the premier’s seat was clearly not enough.
For the success of the operation, comprehensive discredit was also required: Mosaddyk had to be presented as an anti-Islamist (to quarrel with mullahs), a communist (to quarrel with nationalists) and a Republican (to embroil the institution of the Shah's power enjoyed sacred status).
It is hard to believe that all these seemingly overwhelming tasks were brilliantly solved in less than two months! True, it took more than two years for the British subversive genius to bring the operation to mind.
The first tackle to the United States (1951 year) failed: President Harry Truman invited the American oil companies to share the Iranian concession with AIOC if they were successful, but not enough to outweigh the intuitive fears (which turned out to be prophetic!) To quarrel with the Iranian people.
The second tackle turned out to be more far-sighted: in conversation with the newly elected president Dwight Eisenhower, the British left the economic aspects of the operation for dessert, offering the main course the imaginary support of the Tudda party for Mosaddyk and no less imaginary sympathy for communism.
“The delay of death is like! If you do not intervene now, Iran will finally fall under the influence of the Soviets and will be behind the Iron Curtain! Of course, along with their innumerable oil reserves, ”this uncomplicated logic acted on Eisenhower more heavily than the mulets.
Another important factor was the presence at the talks of the Dulles brothers - John Foster, the Secretary of State of the White House, and Allen, the director of the CIA, whose service record, of course, completely randomly turned out to be service in the Sullivan and Cromwell legal office representing the interests of ... Standard Oil of New Jersey , who has dreamed of making her way onto the Iranian oil market for decades!
Anyway, the promise to share with the American business 40% of the British concession in Iran turned out to be a worthy addition to the holy cause of the anti-communist crusade, and Dwight Eisenhower gave the fatal (in historical perspective) good to America's direct participation in the overthrow of the democratic government of Iran. Preparation for the operation "Ajax" went at full speed!
Prepare
The secret operation "Ajax" was entrusted to Kermit "Kim" Roosevelt, the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, and part-time staff officer of the CIA. The officer, however, is mediocre.
Preliminary sketches of Ajax were made in April 1953 of the year, a detailed plan was developed in May, and already in mid-June, after the lightning-fast approval of the operation by the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States, preparations for the overthrow of the Iranian Prime Minister were in full swing.
Kerm Roosevelt was entrusted to lead the operation, nicknamed "Kim" - the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt and a staff officer of the CIA. At first glance, the appointment looked strange, because the intelligence officer "Kim" was incompetent, which, by the way, was confirmed at the very beginning of the operation.
19 June 1953, Roosevelt arrived in Iran under the name of James Lockridge, established contacts with the British intelligence center in Tehran and began to vigorously implant in the capital's beau monde on the subject of bribing a vast contingent of politicians, newspaper editors, publishers, journalists, clergymen, generals and gangsters. Corruption in operation "Ajax" was given a central place, so the money for "Kim" allocated for those times a lot - one million dollars.
Kermit Roosevelt chose the Turkish Embassy as a launching pad for establishing high-level relations, where he spent almost a month in July. “Kim” diluted business lunches and relaxed evening receptions with elegant tennis parties, one of which he, in fact, failed. Constipation once again its filing, Agent James Lockridge with a cry of "Damn you, Roosevelt!" Threw the racket into the net.
Legend has it that “Kim” managed to return to the place the lower jaw of the diplomatic public that attended the match, with a tale that, being an ideological member of the Republican party, he was imbued with such hatred for Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (who had died so little) eight years earlier!), that used his name as the dirtiest curse word.
I don’t know if such nonsense could convince anyone, but the fact remains that Major Isayev Kermit Roosevelt was clearly far away. Well, the loss is not great: for the success of Ajax, the talent of Donald Wilber and the energetic guys from the British residency were enough.
Kermit Roosevelt acted as an attorney of the White House and as a “looker” at Operation Ajax, ensuring Iran’s cut of Iranian good in a situation where the operational initiative was completely in the hands of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The plan of Operation Ajax provided for the development of three themes: a briefing by General Fazloll Zahedi, defined by the allies for the role of the new Prime Minister, the blessing of a coup d'état by Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and the preparation of public opinion.
It turned out to be the most pleasant to work with Fazlolla Zahedi, who agreed to the proposal to sit on Mohammed Mossadegh for purely ideological reasons. Not everything, however, was so simple. Comrade Reza Khan on the Persian Cossack Guard, General Zahedi was a fiery patriot and sincerely hated the British for the arbitrariness in his homeland.
When in the 1941 year, the Allies forced the modernized Shah to abdicate in favor of his son and sent him to Mauritius, Fazlollah Zahedi was arrested for company and taken to Palestine, where he was kept under house arrest until the end of the war.
Is it any wonder that General Zahedi unsuccessfully welcomed the decision of Mossadegh to annul the Anglo-Iranian oil company concession? Zahedi even occupied a short time the post of Minister of the Interior in the government of a man whom he now intended to remove from power with the help of the hated British and Americans! Truly incomprehensible soul of the East!
However, experts from Langley in the coffin saw the subtleties of the experiences of his protege. In the case of General Zahedi, his hatred of communism and personal dislike of Mossaddyk was quite enough. In addition, the new prime minister was assigned the role of a purely secondary: after the coup, Shah Reza Pahlavi, and not a general with a complex outlook, was to become the main figure in Iran.
Ironically, the greatest difficulties arose where they were least expected: with Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The developers of Ajax did not foresee any problems with the shah, since according to the coup scenario no direct participation was required of him. The shy shah was only supposed to sign the firm of the removal of Mosaddyk and the appointment of the Prime Minister, General Zahedi.
The fact that, under the Iranian constitution, the Shah does not appoint the Prime Minister, but only confirms the results of the voting in the Mejlis, the fighters for world democracy were of little concern: does anyone remember such trifles as the constitution at the moment of the expression of people's will on the streets, covered in revolutionary fervor ?! Thus, the enthusiasm that Kermit Roosevelt was engaged in in the sweat of his face, handing out a million reais in the most bread weeks of July and August!
Once, however, it reached the point, the Shah flatly refused to sign anything before receiving unconditional guarantees of the British and American governments that they would not leave the supreme ruler of Iran alone with his people and army.
In fact, the lion's share of the efforts undertaken in the framework of Operation Ajax fell to the shah's persuasion to sign the ill-fated firm. Suffice to say that at key points of the operation, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi indulged in a stampede, followed by a deep bedding to the bottom - the phone does not answer, the mail does not work, the messengers do not find it - at least three times!
Guarantees to the constantly shy shah gave Dwight Eisenhower, who said: The United States will not sit back and watch Iran fall behind the Iron Curtain. The first persuader of the CIA Shah appointed his own sister Ashraf Pahlavi.
It was planned that the British intelligence officer Darbyshire and the CIA officer Meade would meet on July 10 with the princess in Paris, where she constantly lived, and bring up to date. There was no princess in Paris at the appointed time, and it took five days to find her on the Riviera. At first, Ashraf politely refused to participate in the operation, however, as Wilber writes in her report, “official representatives held two more meetings with her, after which she agreed to do everything she was asked to do.”
July 25 Princess Ashraf arrived in Tehran, was the palace and tried to prove to his brother that Mossadegh - the enemy of the people, and Zahedi, on the contrary, the best friend, so without proper firman Iran with a bright future in sight.
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi first yelled at her sister and then expelled from the palace, urging him not to stick his nose in matters in which she does not understand anything. Ashraf was offended, said that the initiative with the firman did not come from her, but from "officials in the United States and Britain", got on a plane and flew back to Paris.
Shah did not believe, although alert. The second run was provided by General Norman Schwarzkopf, the former head of the American gendarme mission in Iran, whom the Shah loved and respected. Schwarzkopf visited Reza Pahlavi in the palace, expounded his plan of operations, and asked him to sign, in addition to the firman dismissing Mossadegh and on the appointment of Zahedi, is also an appeal to the army with an appeal to remain faithful to the Crown and not to interfere with the people's will. Shah promised to think after he was given guarantees of direct support for the operation by the governments of the United States and Britain.
The guarantees were provided by the BBC state radio station and President Dwight Eisenhower personally.
On the day agreed with the shah, instead of the traditional phrase “Time is midnight”, a code change of the text was heard: “Exact time is midnight!” The American president acted no less elegantly: during the speech of 4 in August in Seattle at the convention of state governors, he flatly postponed toward the text of the report and stated that the United States will not sit back and watch as Iran falls behind the Iron Curtain.
Shah expressed his deep satisfaction with the guarantees, announced his intention to immediately sign the necessary firms and ... suddenly left for Ramsar, the royal residence on the shores of the Caspian Sea! Six days remained before the planned start of the coup.
The shy monarch was killed by ... Shahin Soraya! Donald Wilber admits in his report that, in the person of the legendary beauty, the CIA and Mi-6 found an unexpected comrade-in-arms, and Soreya’s participation in knocking out the necessary firms from Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was a complete surprise to all “Ajaksovtsy”. Anyway, but on August 13, the head of the Shah’s security, Colonel Nasiri, delivered long-awaited decrees from Ramsar to General Zahedi: everything was ready for the beginning of the putsch.
The first pancake
From Shah Pehlevi ferman only required to sign, but at key points in operation he gave himself stampede followed deep bedding on the bottom. As soon as possible (a month and a half), Kermit Roosevelt did a tremendous job of bribing members of the Mejlis, publishers, editors and prominent journalists. According to Wilber, on the eve of the coup, more than 80% of metropolitan newspapers and magazines were on the CIA content!
Every morning, Tehran’s press shook public opinion with shrill interviews of deputies dissatisfied with Mosaddyk’s policies and scandalous revelations of the unsightly life of a “corrupt prime minister and his associates.” Virtually all of these stories were pure misinformation sucked from the finger by “writers” in Langley. In the same place, at the headquarters of the CIA, the regular "Rafaeli" issued tons of cartoons and cartoons to the mountain, which came to Tehran through the channels of diplomatic mail and immediately transported to the editorial offices of newspapers and magazines.
Demonstrators, allegedly from the Tudeh party, strolled along the street, shouting slogans in a well-thought-out sequence: “Long live Mohammed Mosaddyk! Long live the Soviet Union! Communism will win! ”
One by one, mosques flew into the air throughout the country, and on the ruins of which there were immediately carefully left evidence leading directly to the communist den. Enraged mullahs betrayed anathema on the heels of the Prime Minister, turned a blind eye to the excesses of militant atheists, did not disdain to lay hands on the holy of holies - the house of worship of Allah and his prophet Muhammad.
The best craftsmen of London and New York made templates of Iranian banknotes, which flooded the domestic market, stimulating unprecedented inflation, which achieved the Iranian economy no worse than embargo and sea blockade. Nothing, however, can not be compared in brilliance subversive genius with the theatrical performance organized by Wilber on the main shopping street of Tehran Lalezar.
First, Kermit Roosevelt’s money hired militants of a large gangster group, who went to scour the street, crashing the windows of all the shops on their way, beating passersby, shooting at the mosque and happily chanting the convoluted phrase: “We love Mossadegh and Communism!”
A couple of hours later, fighters from the rival group moved towards the rioters, whose services were secretly paid for, of course, by the grandson of the American president. Everything ends that bandota arranged in the center of Tehran, many hours of carnage with firing and fire - all to the metropolitan newspaper the next morning could maliciously accuse the government of Mossadegh in the inability to control the situation in the city and ensure the safety of civilians.
Preparations for the internal revolution were complemented by vigorous gestures beyond its borders. Butt-policies at all levels and nationalities, speaking at forums and conferences on the government communique carried out at the right moments stuffing relevant phrases tuning public opinion against the Prime Minister of Iran and prepare for a peaceful reaction to the coming political changes.
It is impossible to imagine that such an intensive and comprehensive preparation could fail. However, this is exactly what happened during the first coup attempt, which took place on August 16 1953! According to Kermit Roosevelt, the failure of the operation was caused not so much by the leakage of information from the camp of conspirators (as stated by the head of the Mossaddy’s office, General Tahi Riahi), he knew already at five o'clock in the evening on 15 in August), but by the complete inability of the officers from General Zahedi’s entourage to take decisive action.
“We had to make every effort to explain to the talkative and often illogical Persians what specific actions are required from each of them,” Donald Wilber wrote in his report.
The frustration of the American spy becomes understandable after reading the official communique of the Mosaddyk government about suppressing the coup d'état - even Horace could not have imagined a more ridiculous outcome of many months of effort. -minister with four trucks of soldiers, two jeeps and an armored personnel carrier. Namiri stated that he delivered the letter to Mohammed Mossaddyk, but was immediately arrested and disarmed ”!
In fact, Namir brought Mossadegh firman shah to dismiss, but did it at the wrong time, as there was in the house of the Prime Minister before the standing at attention to get an army unit of Lieutenant Colonel Zand-Karimi, provides cover for militant conspirators.
The game with finishing
The script has been worked out in detail.
In the capital, pulled troops. Someone fired into the air, then into the crowd ... By the evening of 19 August 1953, Mohammed Mossadegh surrendered to the winners. The failure of the "Ajax" to a first approximation looked real catastrophe: having learned of the arrest of Namir The Shah then fled to Baghdad and then to Rome, where, in an interview with reporters, said about the impossibility of returning home in the foreseeable future!
General Zahedi fell into a severe depression, and his closest comrades went into the deaf underground. Assessing the situation as hopeless, the headquarters of the CIA issued an order to terminate Operation Ajax and the immediate evacuation of key agents from Iran.
Kermit Roosevelt’s refusal to execute the order of his immediate superiors and curtailing the operation indirectly confirms our hypothesis about the special relationship between the offspring of the noble family and the Foggy Albion. You can, of course, assume that Roosevelt leaped in to ambition and he just wanted to prove that the failure was caused not by weak preparatory work for which he was responsible, but by incompetent execution of distributed roles by Iranian puppet.
Such a hypothesis, however, seems to us irrelevant in the case of a senior intelligence officer. Kermit Roosevelt took a terrible risk, and personal motives could hardly counterbalance the disastrous consequences for his career and biography if his demarche were unsuccessful.
I believe that the only reason for such a risk could be deeply transpersonal and large-scale reasons. The struggle against world communism? I am begging you! But the protection of the interests of the Empire, in which the sun never sets, looks very convincing.
Whatever it was, but in the next three days - 16, 17 and 18 of August - Kermit Roosevelt and his comrades brought Ajax operation to a victorious end: Mozaddyk succeeded in eliminating the authorities, appointing Zahedi to the post of Prime Minister and the Shah's triumphal return!
The bet in the second half was made on mass demonstrations of working people, who were brought together by friendly columns to the streets of Tehran, giving out wages to everyone as a precaution. The reason for the demonstration was allegedly the forcible expulsion of the native shah by Mossaddik. People walked around in festive attire (of course: an extra paid day off!), Many people didn’t guess at all about the meaning of the demonstrations.
Skillful actions specialists in the management of human masses sent demonstrators to the building of Radio Tehran, who exactly at that moment made an appeal to the nation, standing on a tank, General Zahedi (a familiar picture, isn’t it?). Another part of the protesters was redistributed to the parliament square, where politicians bought spattered microphones, urging the shah to return as soon as possible and punish the perfidious traitor Mossadegh. The third part of the walking people flocked directly to the house of the Prime Minister.
At the same time, the troops controlled by Zahedi were in the capital. Knowledgeable people fired into the air ... Once again ... and again ... then fired again, just not into the air, but directly into the crowd. Hollowly responded to the call to support the people's revolution tanks. Someone shouted: “Down with Mosaddyk, bloody criminal!” The crowd rushed scatteringly, but stumbled upon the detachment ... “Damned satrap of Mosaddyk shoot at their own people!” - the whistle from among British intelligence center barked loudly.
By the evening of August 19, more than a hundred corpses lay around the residence of Mossadegh. All over the city - still 200. The Prime Minister’s house was surrounded by tanks and engulfed in flames. Yesterday’s people's choice and hero of Iran, Mohammed Mosaddyk, surrendered to the victors.
Aftermath
Prime Minister Mosaddyk was tried for high treason and sentenced - it is terrible to think! - to three years in prison. After his release until his death in 1967, he remained under house arrest.
22 August, stunned by the unexpected success of the fall and still not fully believing in victory, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi returned to his homeland from Italy. The shah told reporters like this: “My people demonstrated loyalty to the monarchy, and for two and a half years of false propaganda they did not turn it away from me. My country did not want to accept the Communists and remained faithful to me. ” Kerm Roosevelt, the Shah said: “I owe my throne to God, my people, my army and you!”
Very soon, life in Iran acquired dignity in the form it was imagined in the West: Anglo-Persian oil company, renamed British Petroleum (surprise-surprise!), Shared Iranian black gold, first with the Americans, and then with the on the feast of the Dutch-French; after the oil in the long-term concession (for a quarter of a century!) the rest of the Iranian economy set off; Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi forgot about his fearfulness, created the secret police "Sawak" and intimidated his beloved people with unprecedented repression; The beloved people remembered the fair Mohammed Mosaddyk, sighed bitterly and ... chose a new defender for himself - the incorruptible and principled Ayatollah Ruhalla Khomeini!
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