ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
The Man Who Invented Seat Belts - DAY BEFORE:
The Fake King of Albania - DAY BEFORE THAT:
Ford Puts The World On Wheels - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
Let's Open The Louvre
ON THIS DAY
The CIA's Iranian Coup
Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown in a coup backed by the CIA and MI6 on 19th August, 1953. He had nationalised Iran’s oil industry, threatening the British stake in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP), fuelling American fears of the spread of Communism.
Britain initially responded with an economic blockade, and the Americans initially stayed out, but Cold War fears about Soviet influence eventually persuaded President Eisenhower’s administration to get involved.
Following the coup, what had looked like a short-term victory for Britain and America became a much longer-term problem. The Shah’s increasingly authoritarian rule crushed political opposition, helping to create the conditions for the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which finally swept him from power and established the Islamic Republic.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the partisan press coverage of the time; explain the Brits’ ‘biscuit tin strategy’; and reveal how the CIA funded not just the revolution, but also convincing counter-demonstrations…
Further Reading:
• ‘CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/August-19/cia-assisted-coup-overthrows-government-of-iran
• ‘In declassified document, CIA acknowledges role in 1953 Iran coup’ (CNN Politics, 2013): https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/19/politics/cia-iran-1953-coup/
• ‘Before the Iran War: The Secret CIA Operation to Oust an Iranian Regime’ (PBS American Experience, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xceDBZeolIM
#Iran #Revolution #50s #ColdWar
ON THIS DAY
The CIA's Iranian Coup
Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown in a coup backed by the CIA and MI6 on 19th August, 1953. He had nationalised Iran’s oil industry, threatening the British stake in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP), fuelling American fears of the spread of Communism.
Britain initially responded with an economic blockade, and the Americans initially stayed out, but Cold War fears about Soviet influence eventually persuaded President Eisenhower’s administration to get involved.
Following the coup, what had looked like a short-term victory for Britain and America became a much longer-term problem. The Shah’s increasingly authoritarian rule crushed political opposition, helping to create the conditions for the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which finally swept him from power and established the Islamic Republic.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the partisan press coverage of the time; explain the Brits’ ‘biscuit tin strategy’; and reveal how the CIA funded not just the revolution, but also convincing counter-demonstrations…
Further Reading:
• ‘CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/August-19/cia-assisted-coup-overthrows-government-of-iran
• ‘In declassified document, CIA acknowledges role in 1953 Iran coup’ (CNN Politics, 2013): https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/19/politics/cia-iran-1953-coup/
• ‘Before the Iran War: The Secret CIA Operation to Oust an Iranian Regime’ (PBS American Experience, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xceDBZeolIM
#Iran #Revolution #50s #ColdWar
ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
The Man Who Invented Seat Belts - DAY BEFORE:
The Fake King of Albania - DAY BEFORE THAT:
Ford Puts The World On Wheels - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
Let's Open The Louvre
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OLLY MANN
Olly Mann made his name with another trivia-wielding podcast, Answer Me This! with Helen Zaltzman – and now presents The Modern Mann, The Week Unwrapped, and Four Thought for BBC Radio Four. He also has an A-Level in History, so Dan Snow beware.
REBECCA MESSINA
Rebecca got a passion for podcasting working at The Week magazine and a passion for trivia appearing on University Challenge in 2011, making The Retrospectors her natural home.
ARION MCNICOLL
Arion started out in satirical news in Australia, then moved to the UK to work for ostensibly serious publications including The Times, CNN, and The Week… before realising that since around 2016 the news has all been satire really.
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