July 30, 2017
Iran’s so-called 1953 coup is “Fake
News” to justify and support the Islamic theocracy in Iran
by Dr. Sheda Vasseghi
Globalism is the reason
why the U.S. stabbed itself in the back with the fall of Iran’s secular
monarchy in 1979. The lack of support for a secular, modernizing Iran which is
contradictory to America’s interests can best be ascertained from an excerpt in
a letter by President Ronald Reagan after November 4, 1979, in which Pres.
Reagan wrote:
[A] year ago last April
Nancy and I were in Tehran…the shah set out to lift his people literally to the
level of the people of America. When he was crowned, he said he did not want to
be the ruler of his people if his people were poor. He set out to reform land
holding. He gave to the peasants farm lands, beginning with his own personal,
vast land holdings. He then, and perhaps this explains some of the hatred for
him, gave to them the land holdings that were held by the Moslem priests—and
these were even more extensive than his own. He freed women who had been bound
by the ancient traditions of their religion. When we were there, young women
looking for all the world like American coeds were studying to be doctors,
lawyers, teachers and so forth in the universities.... It is true that he
raised the price of oil, but this was at the suggestion of our own government,
which knew it was the only way he could purchase the arms we were providing so
that he could be a stumbling block to the southern push of the Soviet Union. In
one of the moments of emergency in the Middle East when our Seventh Fleet was
out of oil, he provided the fuel for the entire fleet at no charge to the
United States. He forbade the Soviet Union to fly their military planes over
Iran at the time of the Middle East crisis. Possibly he moved too fast, and yet
when we saw the great apartment buildings and the low-cost housing for the poor
that were being built, saw the streets where camels once were the beast of
burden filled with trucks and automobiles, we were convinced that he was
sincere in his effort to improve life for his people. Incidentally, though a
Moslem himself, he opened Iran up to freedom of worship and gave full rights to
the various minorities—Christians and Jews—living in that country…. I’m sure
the shah made mistakes, as any ruler will but I don’t believe that his regime
could match this present revolutionary government for its bloodthirsty
brutality.
The recent political
events in the U.S. and Europe have now made it clear that those in favor of Globalism
(mostly Leftist-Marxists) supported the fall of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
(1919-1980) in order for the rise of Islamism to take shape. Globalists are in
bed with the Islamists—what the late Shah called the unholy alliance of Red and
Black. The plan of launching Islamism for mass control in Eurasia could not be
realized without the fall of the Shah. Given Iranians, as an Aryan branch of
Indo-Europeans are Eurasians, this is of no surprise.
In my recent doctorate
dissertation on content integrity in college history textbooks, I concluded
that the eleven surveyed textbooks commonly used in American colleges overwhelmingly
omitted, ill-defined, misrepresented, or marginalized Iran and Iranians in the
origins of Western Civilization. Even though the study was narrowed to ancient
history of Western Civilization, this problem is seen across all eras. An
important misrepresentation of Iranian history in modern era is the so-called
“Iranian coup of 1953.”
The mainstream narrative by
Globalists claims that a CIA operation was responsible for the overthrow of a
“democratically-elected” government in Iran (the removal of Prime Minister
Mohammad Mossadegh) and “installment” or “re-installment” of the Shah. This
narrative helps the Globalists to justify the Islamic Revolution of 1979 at the
expense of Iran’s secular monarchy by deceptively portraying the monarchy as
historically unpopular while masking the critical meddling of the Islamic
clergy in Iranian politics.
Let’s look at how
mainstream media and educational institutions which are mostly Globalists (Leftist
Marxists) confuse and mislead the public about the 1953 event in Iran
especially in light of recent release of State Department documents.
Recall that after decades
of corruption and supreme mismanagement resulting in a bankrupt and backwards
Iran, the Qajar dynasty (1794-1925) was replaced with the patriotic and
modernizing Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979). As an officer in the OSS (predecessor
to the CIA), Dr. Donald Wilber discussed the luxurious and decadent lifestyle
of the Qajar dynasty and their “solicit[ing] loans from Great Britain and
Russia that were then wasted upon the upkeep of the Court.”
A Qajar prince named
Mohammad Mossadegh was among a few opposing the deposition of the Qajar dynasty
and the ascendancy of the Pahlavi dynasty. Wilbur wrote that Mossadegh gave the
longest opposition speech during the 1925 Parliament hearings in which he
claimed that the ascendancy of the Pahlavi dynasty would destroy Iran’s
Constitution and create a dictatorship. Although the Pahlavis came to power in
1925, Iran’s Constitution of 1906 and the supplementary laws of 1907 remained
in place.
According to Political
Science scholar George Lenczowski, in order to pull Iran out of medieval-style
governance, the Pahlavi dynasty supported a 1946 memorandum from officials which
led to the First Development Plan of 1949. This initial phase of economic
development was to span from 1950 to 1957. Obviously, Iran’s modernization
required funds, i.e., profits from oil industry.
Iran’s oil had been under
British control since its discovery. History professor Amin Banani explained
how oil nationalization efforts began with the Pahlavi Administration’s appeal
to the League of Nations in 1932 when it accused the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
of miscalculating royalty payments to Iran. Despite an unfavorable outcome in
gaining control over the nation’s most valued resource, the Pahlavi
Administration worked on bypassing the concession area of the Anglo-Iranian Oil
Company.
In 1951, the Shah appointed
Mohammad Mossadegh as Prime Minister with the Parliament’s support and
recommendation. This was the same Mossadegh of the Qajar family, who had
opposed the replacement of his family’s rule (the Qajars) by the Pahlavis back
in 1925. According to a June 1963 article in the American Bar Association Journal by Eric Daenecke,
The executive power
resides in the Shah … [which include, as] mentioned in the Constitution; the
appointing and dismissing of cabinet members and heads of government
departments, internal and foreign; commanding the armed forces; declaring war
and concluding peace…. He has the power to call special sessions of Parliament
and may act without reference to the Parliament in appointing or dismissing
prime ministers.
Further, half of the Iranian senators were elected by literate
citizens while the other half were appointed by the Shah.
Professor Lenczowski
wrote that under Mossadegh’s leadership, a group of deputies pushed “immediate
nationalization of the Iranian oil industry with little regard for the economic
consequences of such a move.” This led to “political and financial
disturbances” during Prime Minister Mossadegh’s period (1951-53) during which
the First Plan for economic development “had to be terminated prematurely.”
That is, with the oil income cutoff and international boycott of Iran under
Mossadegh’s guidance, the early phase of economic development that was to come
to fruition between 1950 and 1957 was destroyed. A paper prepared by the State
Department dated February 8, 1967, noted that Mossadegh’s “Madness” dealt a
blow to Iran’s treasury in 1951-1954.
Lenczowski wrote that during
this domestic political struggle “Mossadegh began to question the rights and
prerogatives of the Shah in more general terms” while asking and gaining all
powers from the Parliament. Mossadegh “tried to reduce the ruler to a position
of nominal authority” while his alliance with the banned Communist Tudeh party suggested
that Iran would move away from Western influences towards the Soviet Union.
According to a CIA paper
dated July 29, 1953, Mossadegh asked the people to dissolve the Parliament and choose
between him and the Parliament. The CIA paper goes on to state that this action
by Mossadegh “is illegal since only the shah has the constitutional right to
dissolve the Majlis [Parliament], the prime minister will have the full support
of the Iranian Communists, the Tudeh party, and its apparatus.” At the time CIA
concluded that “Mossadeq is currently operating under virtual dictatorial
powers voted him by the Majlis last spring” and “he is in a position to rule
alone.”
In an undated CIA
briefing for Director Allen Dulles, it is noted that “Mossadeq is out to finish
Shah and reportedly has made three demands: (1) Turn over Crown property to
government; (2) Abandon control of army; and (3) Clean out court.”
According to the
Globalists’ fake news, by 1953, the CIA launched an operation under agent
Kermit Roosevelt of the famous Roosevelt clan in pushing Mossadegh out of
office and returning the Shah back to power.
Historian Hugh Wilford’s
2016 article in Diplomatic History
referred to Roosevelt’s role in the events of 1953 as “essentially a work of
fiction.” Wilford claimed “historians are sharply divided about key questions
regarding the causes and consequences of the Iran coup,” and noted that several
recent sources “have downplayed the contribution of the CIA and argued that in
fact it was elite Iranian actors who were chiefly responsible for bringing
about” the fall of Mossadegh in 1953. Most of the CIA’s records on the 1953
operation were destroyed or remain classified. Given restrictions on
publication and passing of time, Wilford characterized Roosevelt’s views on the
Iran coup as “story-telling.”
The following highlight
Wilford’s views. According to a Sept. 5, 1952, telegram from station in Iran to
the CIA, the top Islamic clergy “Kashani definitely planning Mossadegh
overthrow” with reliance from the Parliament, if something was not done about
the situation in Iran. In a June 11, 1953, memo by Naval Attache in Iran
(Pollard), it is noted that the Iranian opposition against Mossadegh asked “if
it was not a sign of the strength of the opposition that in the Majlis [Parliament]
which was practically handpicked by Mossadegh there were men who realized that
his course led only to Communism and who had the courage in the face of serious
intimidation to oppose him and that among these men were the organizers of
Mossadegh’s strength—Kashani, Makki, Baghai, etc.” A June 15, 1953, State
Department memo noted “Postpone. Mossadegh.” In an August 17, 1953, CIA memo,
the Voice of America is directed to play the story “straight” and to indicate
that if there was a coup, it was Mossadegh who was committing it.
Middle Eastern expert Ray
Takeyh summed up his conclusions of the State Department documents that were
recently released on the matter. Takeyh stated that
those skeptical of the
standard account of the coup will find in the files more evidence that the
mythmakers were wrong. The newly declassified records provide valuable insight
into the confused atmosphere that permeated the U.S. intelligence community
that fateful summer. It is hard to read these cables and come to the conclusion
that America overthrew Mossadeq.
Takeyh confirmed that it was the Iranians, who offered
U.S. officials a path out of this destructive situation, not so much the CIA.
When the Shah finally issued a decree dismissing Mossadegh as prime minister in
August 13, 1953, Mossadegh had the officer—who was dispatched to dismiss him—arrested.
At this point, Mossadegh’s continued role as prime minister was illegal. The
successful action that finally removed Mossadegh from illegal usurpation of
power was “an Iranian initiative.” Takeyh concluded that it is unlikely for the
Leftists (Globalists) to give up their myths of 1953 coup in Iran since “they
are too invested in their narrative and too obsessed with defending the Islamic
Republic.”
In conclusion, contrary
to the Globalist mainstream spin on the 1953 events:
(1) Iran’s prime ministers were not
“democratically-elected.” The Shah appointed and dismissed prime ministers
without reference to the Parliament.
(2) Mossadegh was in power for two years which
reminds one of Alexander the Great’s seven years as King of Asia prior to his
untimely death—hardly any time to govern and do something productive about the
fate of millions from Greece to India.
(3) Prime Minister Mossadegh was involved in
sedition by committing a coup against the head of the State—Mohammad Reza Shah
Pahlavi—given under the Iranian Constitution, “the sovereignty is a trust
confided (as a Divine gift) by the people to the person of the King.” Mossadegh
held on to his powers illegally after the Shah issued his dismissal orders.
(4) It was an Iranian initiative that resolved
its dangerous and historical domestic crisis in 1953.
(5) There is no basis or justification for the
fall of a secular modernizing Iran and the rise of an Islamic theocracy based
on non-Iranian medieval governance.
(6) Iran’s imminent freedom from the Islamic
Republic and return to Iranian-based governance—famous since the time of Iranian
king Cyrus the Great some 2500 years ago—will again be initiated by Iranians
themselves.
Banani, A. (1961). The modernization of Iran, 1921-1941. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Daenecke, E. (1963, June). Constitutional law in Iran. Amerian Bar Association Journal, pp. 568-570.
Lenczowski, G. (1978). Iran under the Pahlavis, p. 169. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Publication.
Skinner, K. K., Anderson, A., & Anderson, M. (2003). Reagan: A life in letters, pp. 435-436. New York, NY: Free Press.
Takeyh, R. (2017, July 24). The myths of 1953. The Weekly Standard. Retrieved from http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-myths-of-1953/article/2008838
Vasseghi, S. (2010, June 16). The mullahs' days are numbered: One year later, technology and time are on the people's side. Worldtribune. Retrieved from http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2010/me_iran0533_06_16.asp
Wilber, D. N. (1975). Riza Shah Pahlavi: The resurrection and reconstruction of Iran
1878-1944, p. 106. Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press.
Wilford, H. (2016). “Essentially a work of
fiction”: Kermit “Kim” Roosevelt, Imperial Romance, and the Iran Coup of 1953. Diplomatic History, 40(5), pp. 922-947.
