The MI6 spent several years preparing the environment for a change of government. They brought in all of their experts, servants and spies. They pulled in money and bribed whoever would accept it. They prevented other countries like France and Italy from buying oil from Iran. Eventually, the noose was getting tighter from the outside and things were falling apart from the inside. The British, having lost their best chance, decided to go for a coup. They had to achieve two goals before they could pull off such a thing:
a) Get the Ayatollahs out of the picture. That was accomplished by dispensing some money and scaring everybody of the threat of the communist party and the Russians.
b) Get the Americans on board. That meant sharing the loot with American oil corporations. This concession was more bitter than anything else, because it would hit them in the pocket.
They antagonized and flared up the rift between Mossadegh and ayatollah Kashani. Kashani had unrealistic demands and Mossadegh was stubborn. In those years he could not trust many people; ironically, some of the people that he appointed to positions of power were his own family members, yet in his final days, they betrayed him like everyone else. The British managed to create problems in every corner of the country making it very difficult for Mossadegh to rule. The old man put up a good fight. Although, he was eccentric, old and sick, he believed that with time he would be able to win Americans over and make a reasonable deal with them. The oil embargo was breaking the back of the country, but Mossadegh refused to sell oil to the Soviet block or China.
At that time there was competition between British petroleum and American oil companies. Americans wanted to take a bigger chunk of Middle Eastern oil. They had consolidated their position in Saudi Arabia with Armco; however Iran and Iraq were up for grabs. Mossadegh and his foreign minister made an exhaustive attempt to make a deal with Americans. Mossadegh's final offer was to sell the oil to Americans at a 40% discount.
Churchill and British intelligence officer trout, they brought the Shah in power for a rainy day.
That was just about the best deal Americans could have ever gained but again they were mesmerized by the old alcoholic aristocrat Sir Winston Churchill. Ike insisted that Iran should finish up its quarrels with England first and then try the US. Ike sent Mr. Henderson as an ambassador to Iran to assist the British to topple the Iranian government and set up a dictatorship, similar to those of South America.
There are reports that Ayatollah Kashani took $10,000 from the CIA. Interestingly, Ayatollah Khomeini, who was a follower of Kashani, and was famous for his anti-government rhetoric, kept silent and they all permitted their thugs to assist the British.
On August 15 1953, the King wrote a letter to the Prime Minister firing him. And he wrote another one to a retired general Zahedi to be the new Prime Minister. Interestingly General Zahedi was initially sent to exile by the British for being a Nazi sympathizer.
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