The 1953 Iranian Coup: How the US and UK Toppled Mossadegh

Shortly before midnight on 15 August 1953, an Iranian colonel named Nematollah Nassiri climbed into a car in Tehran carrying a piece of paper that was supposed to end a war fought entirely with money, radio broadcasts and rented crowds. The paper was a royal decree, signed by the Shah, dismissing Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. Nassiri never got to deliver it. Mossadegh's people were waiting for him, and by morning he was under arrest rather than the man doing the arresting. 1952: Iranian...