Operation Ajax

Operation Ajax was the CIA's covert operation to overthrow Iran's Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in August 1953, conducted jointly with British intelligence (MI6's Operation Boot). The operation was authorized by President Eisenhower and directed by CIA operative Kermit Roosevelt Jr., grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt.

The coup was motivated by Mosaddegh's nationalization of Iran's oil industry in 1951, which threatened British petroleum interests and raised American concerns about Soviet influence during the Cold War. The CIA worked with Iranian military officers and paid protesters to create civil unrest, ultimately leading to Mosaddegh's arrest and the restoration of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to absolute power.

The operation succeeded in installing a pro-Western government, but the Shah's authoritarian rule and close ties to the United States contributed to growing anti-American sentiment in Iran. The 1979 Iranian Revolution that overthrew the Shah was partly motivated by resentment over foreign interference in Iranian affairs, including the 1953 coup.

For decades, the U.S. government denied involvement in Mosaddegh's overthrow. However, in 2013, the CIA officially acknowledged its role when it released declassified documents detailing the operation's planning and execution. The documents confirmed that the CIA had provided financial support, training, and coordination for the coup plotters.

Operation Ajax became a template for subsequent CIA interventions in other countries during the Cold War and remains a significant factor in Iranian-American relations. The operation is now recognized as a pivotal moment that demonstrated both the capabilities and long-term consequences of covert American foreign policy interventions.