The Puppet Masters: Kermit Roosevelt and the Art of the Coup

0:01 Welcome back everyone. Make sure to share and subscribe. Today we're going to be talking about the nineteen fifty three Iran coup in the long shadow of Operation Ajax. In August nineteen fifty three, a democratically elected prime minister of Iran was overthrown. The operation was planned and executed with the direct involvement of the US and the UK code name Operation Ajax by the CIA. This covert action removed Mohammed Mosadek from power and restored the authority of Shah Pallavi.

0:32 The coup was triggered by Mosadek's decision to nationalize Iran's oil industry in nineteen fifty one. This move directly challenged the interests of the British owned Anglo Iranian Oil Company and raised fears in Washington and London of the growing Soviet influence during the Cold War. Britain, under the name Operation Boot and the US under Operation Ajax, collaborated to destabilize Mozadek's government. The plan involved propaganda campaigns, bribery of officials and religious leaders, staged protests, and a coordination with pro Shaw military. A central figure in the execution was Kermit Roosevelt, a senior officer for the CIA and a grandson of Theodore Roosevelt. He operated under the Elias alias

1:17 James Lockridge. He slipped into Iran in July of nineteen fifty three with substantial money and a mandate to orchestrate the operation on the ground in Tehran.

1:30 The first attempt nearly collapsed.

1:32 But after regrouping, the coup succeeded on August nineteenth, nineteen fifty three, following seven days or several days of orchestrated unrest. Melisadeck was a nationalist leader and at prime minister since nineteen fifty one. He enjoyed proad broad popular support for his oil nationalization policy. Coup planners portrayed him as a threat leaning toward communism, despite his strong anti communist stance.

2:00 Kerman Roosevelt played a pivotal role on the ground. He orchestrated psychological operations, including bribing demonstrators to attack symbols of the SHAW while chanting pro Mozadic's slogans, a tactic design to turn public sentiment against the prime minister. He bribed newspaper editors, coordinated with military figures, and personally persuaded the young and initially hesitant SHAW to issue the crees dismissing Mozadek.

2:28 General Fuzzlola Hazahati was installed as the new Prime Minister. Mozadek was arrested, tried, and sentenced to three years in prison, followed by house arrest for the remainder of his life. Hundreds of people died in the street fighting that accompanied the coup. The Shaw's power was significantly strengthened, and Iran moved firmly into the West for the next twenty six years.

2:48 The immediate goal was achieved.

2:49 Western control of Iranian oil was restored and perceived communist threat was neutralized. Yet the long term consequence has proved far more complex. The coup deeply damned imaged Iranian trust in democratic institutions and in the West. Many Iranians view the SHAW as a foreign install ruler, fueling resentment that simmered for decades. This anti Western sentiment contributed significantly to the conditions that led to the nineteen seventy nine Iranian Revolution, which overthrew the SHAW and established the Islamic Republic. It demonstrated both the short term effectiveness and the long term risks of using intelligence agencies to shape the internal politics.

3:26 Of sovereign nations.

3:28 So who wins in the long shadow of Operation Ajax Well, in the short term, it was the US. In Britain, the Shaw's regime aligned firmly with the West for a generation. Yet history shows a more nuanced outcome. The coup undermined Iranian democracy and sowed seeds of lasting.

3:44 Distrust toward foreign intervention.

3:47 But planners sometimes underestimated was the enduring power of national pride in the backlash that follows perceived external manipulation of a nation's sovereignty. Kermit Roosevelt's bowl on the ground action secure tactical success, but they also help plant the roots of deep and lasting resentment. Operation age acts illustrates a timeless lesson in geopolitics. Short term tactical success can create long term strategic liabilities when it disregards the aspirations and.

4:20 Dignity of a people.

4:22 Covert action may reshape governments, but it rarely reshape hearts and minds. In the end, the long shadow of nineteen fifty three continues to influence the US and Iranian relations, reminding us that the interventions design to control the present can profoundly shape and haunt the future.

4:41 Hopefully you enjoyed this as a little

4:43 Background of what happened in nineteen fifty three, maybe gives us a little bit more insight on what's currently happening now.