By JAMES RISEN
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-index.html
The Central Intelligence Agency's secret history of its covert operation to overthrow Iran's government in 1953 offers an inside look at how the agency stumbled into success, despite a series of mishaps that derailed its original plans.
Written in 1954 by one of the coup's chief planners, the history details how United States and British officials plotted the military coup that returned the shah of Iran to power and toppled Iran's elected prime minister, an ardent nationalist.
The document shows that:
Britain, fearful of Iran's plans to nationalize its oil industry, came up with the idea for the coup in 1952 and pressed the United States to mount a joint operation to remove the prime minister.
The C.I.A. and S.I.S., the British intelligence service, handpicked Gen. Fazlollah Zahedi to succeed Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and covertly funneled $5 million to General Zahedi's regime two days after the coup prevailed.
Iranians working for the C.I.A. and posing as Communists harassed religious leaders and staged the bombing of one cleric's home in a campaign to turn the country's Islamic religious community against Mossadegh's government.
The shah's cowardice nearly killed the C.I.A. operation. Fearful of risking his throne, the Shah repeatedly refused to sign C.I.A.-written royal decrees to change the government. The agency arranged for the shah's twin sister, Princess Ashraf Pahlevi, and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, the father of the Desert Storm commander, to act as intermediaries to try to keep him from wilting under pressure. He still fled the country just before the coup succeeded.
See the online book there:
Introduction
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-intro.html
Chapter 1
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-chapter1.html
Chapter 2
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-chapter2.html
Chapter 3
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-chapter3.html
Chapter 4
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-chapter4.html
Chapter 5
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-mossadegh.html
Chapter 6
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-media.html
Chapter 7
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-spy.html
Iran - U.S. Timeline
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-us-timeline.html
Iran Coup Timeline
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-coup-timeline.html
Articles
The Coup in Iran: From the Archives
February 1949
Ruler of Iran Is Wounded Slightly by Two Bullets Fired by Assassin
March 25, 1951
World Eyes Iran on Oil Seizure Bid
April 28, 1951
Premier Quits as Iran Speeds Nationalization of Oil Fields
May 20, 1951
British Warn Iran of Serious Result if She Seizes Oil
Sept. 30, 1951
Britain-Iran Talk in U.N. Is Sought; Mossadegh Coming
July 18, 1952
Mossadegh Out as Premier; Ghavam to Take Iran Helm
New Iranian Chief Political Veteran
July 21, 1952
Hundreds Seized in Iranian Rioting Over Ghavam Rule
July 23, 1952
Mossadegh Is Back as Premier of Iran; Order Is Restored
World Court Bars Ruling on Iran Oil
Aug. 11, 1952
Iranian Deputies Rebuff Mossadegh Over Martial Law
U.S. and Britain Confronted by Dilemma on Help to Iran
Aug. 17, 1953
Shah Flees Iran After Move to Dismiss Mossadegh Fails
Aug. 18, 1953
Statues of Shahs Torn Down in Iran
Aug. 20, 1953
Royalists Oust Mossadegh; 300 Die in Iranian Fighting — Army Seizes Helm
Royalists Oust Mossadegh; Shah Is Flying Home Today
Moscow Says U.S. Aided Shah's Group
New Iran Premier Lifelong Royalist
Britain Is Cautious on Revolt in Iran
Aug. 21, 1953
Mossadegh Quits Teheran Hideout; Is Held for Trial
Shah Instituted Iranian Reforms
Shah Leaves Rome to Fly to Teheran
Aug. 23, 1953
Shah, Back in Iran, Wildly Acclaimed; Prestige at Peak
Week in Review: Reversal in Iran
Dec. 22, 1953
Mossadegh Gets 3-Year Jail Term
March 14, 1954
Mossadegh's Aide Seized in Teheran
Aug. 6, 1954
Iran and Oil Group Initial Agreement to Resume Output
Statements on Iran Oil Accord
Oct. 11, 1954
Iran Dooms Aide of Mossadegh for Role in Revolt Against Shah
Nov. 11, 1954
Ex-Foreign Chief of Iran Executed
Page Ones
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-pageones.html
CIA Timeline Photos
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600cia-timeline-pix.1.html
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-us-timeline.html
Iran-U.S. Relations: A Chronology
EVENTS
FROM THE ARCHIVES-->
1940
1941• Britain and the Soviet Union invade western Iran to counter the threat of expanding Nazi influence.
1950
Corbis / Bettman
1953• American and British intelligence services overthrow Mossadegh. The coup consolidates power under the shah, ensuring cooperation on oil and discouraging Communist expansion.
1951• Mohammed Mossadegh, an ultranationalist, is elected prime minister, under the shah. He angers the British by trying to nationalize the oil industry.
Click here to view a magnified timeline of the coup period, with links to the original coverage from the Times. {See below this timeline, on this page}
1960
1963-64• Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a religious leader, is exiled to Turkey after his arrest for speaking out against the shah's relationship with the United States.
1978
Corbis / Bettman - UPI
1979 • The Iranian revolution forces the shah to leave. A month later, he is allowed into the United States for cancer treatment in New York City.
1978 • Turmoil sweeps Iran. Khomeini establishes an opposition movement in Paris.
Corbis/Bettman - UPI
1979• Khomeini returns to proclaim an Islamic republic. With his support, Iranian students occupy the American Embassy in Tehran. Fifty-two Americans are held hostage for 444 days. The United States freezes Iranian assets.
1980
1980• The United States breaks ties with Iran, bans American exports to the country and expels Iranian diplomats.
1981• The hostages are released minutes after President Carter's term ends. A United States-Iran claims tribunal is set up in The Hague. 1988• The American cruiser Vincennes mistakenly shoots down an Iranian airliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 aboard.
Corbis/Bettman - UPI
1980• A secret American military mission to rescue the hostages is aborted because of bad weather. Eight servicemen die in a helicopter crash. The shah dies in Egypt at age 60.
1986• Revelations emerge of an American deal to exchange arms for Iranian help in freeing hostages held in Lebanon. 1989• Ayatollah Khomeini dies and is replaced as the nation's spiritual leader by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The speaker of Iran's Parliament, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, is elected president.
1990
Agence France Presse
1997 • Mohammad Khatami, a moderate cleric, wins Iran's presidential election. Clinton calls the election hopeful, but insists that ties are not possible until Iran renounces terrorism, opposition to the Middle East peace effort and weapons of mass destruction.
• Clinton asks Khatami for help in solving the 1996 bombing of a Saudi building in which 19 American servicemen died and hundreds were wounded.
• The Clinton administration renews an offer for talks "on the basis of equality and mutual respect." Iran rejects the offer two days later.
• The United States agrees to let Boeing provide Iran's national airline with parts to ensure the safety of its 747's.
1993 • The Clinton administration starts a campaign to isolate Iran, accusing it of supporting terrorism, seeking nuclear arms and trying to derail Middle East peace.
1996• President Clinton signs a law that imposes sanctions on foreign companies investing heavily in "terrorist" Iran or Libya.
1998 • Khatami proposes cultural exchanges as a way to end mistrust, but rules out a government-to-government dialogue.
• Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright invites Iranians to join with the United States in drawing up "a road map leading to normal relations." Iran responds that such a step must be followed up by acts.
1999• The Clinton administration announces it will let American companies sell food and medical items to three countries off-limits as terrorist — Iran, Libya and Sudan.
2000
2000 • Albright announces the lifting of a ban on American imports of Iranian luxury goods. She acknowledges America's role in the 1953 coup, coming closer to apologizing for it than any American official ever has.
The Associated Press
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-coup-timeline.html
EVENTS
FROM THE ARCHIVES
1949
1949• World War II ends. Iran becomes a target of both pro-Western and pro-Soviet forces with regard to the country's vast oil reserves.
Feb. 5, 1949
Ruler of Iran Is Wounded Slightly by Two Bullets Fired by Assassin
1950
June 1950• General Ali Razmara becomes prime minister of Iran.
• Support grows for the nationalization of Iran's oil industry.
1951
March 1951• Prime Minister Ali Razmara is assassinated.
• Nationalist Mohammed Mossadegh becomes prime minister and angers the British by wresting
control of the oil industry.
March 25
World Eyes Iran on Oil Seizure Bid
April 28
Premier Quits as Iran Speeds Nationalization of Oil Fields
May 20
British Warn Iran of Serious Result if She Seizes Oil
Sept. 30
Britain-Iran Talk in U.N. Is Sought; Mossadegh Coming
1952
July 17, 1952• Due to growing friction between the shah and Mossadegh over oil, Mossadegh resigns. Ahmed Ghavam takes over as prime minister. Three days of rioting ensue.
July 22, 1952• Under pressure, the Shah is forced to reappoint Mossadegh.
July 18
Mossadegh Out as Premier; Ghavam to Take Iran Helm
New Iranian Chief Political Veteran
July 21
Hundreds Seized in Iranian Rioting Over Ghavam Rule
July 23
Mossadegh Is Back as Premier of Iran; Order Is Restored
World Court Bars Ruling on Iran Oil
Aug. 11
Iranian Deputies Rebuff Mossadegh Over Martial Law
U.S. and Britain Confronted by Dilemma on Help to Iran
1953
March 1953• The C.I.A. begins drafting a plan to bring to power, through covert action, a government in Iran that would be preferred by the United States.
April 4, 1953
• Secretary of State John Foster Dulles approves a budget of $1,000,000 to be used to "...bring about the fall of Mossadegh." -->
April 16, 1953• A C.I.A. study entitled "Factors Involved in the Overthrow of Mossadegh" is completed. The study concludes that a coup in Iran is possible.
May 13, 1953• C.I.A. and British intelligence officers meet in Nicosia, Cyprus, to draft plans for the coup. Meanwhile, the C.I.A.'s Tehran station is granted approval to launch a "grey propaganda" campaign to discredit the Mossadegh government.
June 10, 1953• C.I.A. officers meet in Beirut for a final review of the coup plan.
June 19, 1953• The final operation plan for the coup, agreed upon by both the C.I.A. and British intelligence, is submitted to the U.S. State Department and the Foreign Office in London.
July 1, 1953• Britain's prime minister gives final approval to the operational plan for the coup.
July 11, 1953• President Eisenhower gives final approval to the operational plan for the coup.
July 23, 1953• A British Foreign Office memorandum is presented to an Under Secretary of State, reassuring the U.S. that the British would be flexible on the issue of controlling oil in Iran.
July 25, 1953• Under pressure from the C.I.A., Princess Ashraf, the Shah's sister, flies to Tehran from France in order to convince the Shah to sign the royal decrees that would dismiss Mossadegh.
"...should the Shah fail to go along with the U.S. representative or fail to produce the [legal] documents for General Zahedi, Zahedi would be informed that the United States would be ready to go ahead without the Shah's active cooperation..." — C.I.A. Document, Appendix B, page 10
July 29, 1953• The C.I.A. intensifies a propaganda effort, which included planting stories in major American newspapers, to weaken the Mossadegh government.
Aug. 1, 1953• In a meeting with Gen. H. Norman Schwartzkopf, the Shah refuses to sign the C.I.A.-written royal decrees firing Mossadegh and naming Gen. Zahedi as the new prime minister of Iran.
Aug. 4, 1953• Mossadegh, suspecting that British and American governments were plotting against him, holds a referendum calling for the Iranian parliament to be dissolved.
Aug. 13, 1953• The shah signs a royal decrees dismissing Mossadegh. Word of the shah's support for the coup spreads quickly in Iran.
Aug. 15, 1953• The coup begins, but falters and then fails because Mossadegh received advanced warning of the plans. Zahedi goes into hiding.
Aug. 16, 1953• The shah flees to Baghdad.
Aug. 17, 1953• Gen. Zahedi announces that he is the prime minister. To support this claim, C.I.A. agents disseminate a large quantity of photographs of the royal decrees dismissing Mossadegh and appointing Zahedi. The shah announces that he indeed signed the decrees.
Aug. 18, 1953• The C.I.A., discouraged by the failed coup, sends a message to Tehran ordering the operations against Mossadegh to be halted.
Aug. 19, 1953• Several Tehran newspapers publish the Shah's decrees. As a result, supporters of the Shah begin gathering in the streets, and another coup begins. Gen. Zahedi comes out of hiding to lead the movement. By the end of the day, the country is in the hands of Zahedi and members of the Mossadegh government are either in hiding or incarerated.
SLIDE SHOW: Demonstrations Erupt During Coup
"From the fact that certain actions provided for in the military plan failed to materialize ... it was obvious that something had gone wrong." — C.I.A. Document, Part VII, page 44
"After discussion between Roosevelt and Rashidian, they reverted to a decision closer to the original London draft of TPAJAX, deciding that there should be two royal decrees, one dismissing Mossadegh and one naming Zahedi as Prime Minister." — C.I.A. Document, Part IV, page 36 -->
"The Director, on April 4, 1953, approved a budget of $1,000,000 which could be be used by the Tehran Station in any way that would bring about the fall of Mossadegh." — C.I.A. Document, Part I, page 3
"The purpose will be to create, extend, and enhance public hostility and distrust and fear of Mossadegh and his government." — C.I.A. Document, Appendix B, page 15
Aug. 17
Shah Flees Iran After Move to Dismiss Mossadegh Fails
Aug. 18
Statues of Shahs Torn Down in Iran
"Just what incident or what reaction ... caused the pro-Zahedi officers to falter in their duties is not clearly known." — C.I.A. Document, Part VI, page 42
Aug. 20
Royalists Oust Mossadegh; 300 Die in Iranian Fighting — Army Seizes Helm
Royalists Oust Mossadegh; Shah Is Flying Home Today
Moscow Says U.S. Aided Shah's Group
New Iran Premier Lifelong Royalist
Britain Is Cautious on Revolt in Iran
Aug. 21
Mossadegh Quits Teheran Hideout; Is Held for Trial
Shah Instituted Iranian Reforms
Shah Leaves Rome to Fly to Teheran
Aug. 23
Shah, Back in Iran, Wildly Acclaimed; Prestige at Peak
Week in Review: Reversal in Iran
Dec. 22
Mossadegh Gets 3-Year Jail Term
1954
1954• With Zahedi acting as prime minister and the pro-Shah army units in control, hundreds of National Front leaders, communist Tudah Party officers and political activists are arrested.
• Mossadegh's minister of foreign affairs, Hossein Fatemi, is sentenced to death and executed.
• The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company resumes operation.
March 14
Mossadegh's Aide Seized in Teheran
Aug. 6
Iran and Oil Group Initial Agreement to Resume Output
Statements on Iran Oil Accord
Oct. 11
Iran Dooms Aide of Mossadegh for Role in Revolt Against Shah
Nov. 11
Ex-Foreign Chief of Iran Executed
No comments:
Post a Comment