#PeoplesHistory | 🇮🇷 On this day in 1953, the CIA’s first successful coup overthrew Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and his democratically elected government. British intelligence backed their US counterparts in this illegal act.
Mossadegh was an icon of Iran’s secular democracy and resistance to foreign colonial powers. He became Prime Minister in 1951. He nationalized Iranian oil and instituted radical measures such as social security, land reform, and wealth redistribution.
The nationalization of oil, which took it out of British hands, was celebrated by the Iranian people. But the colonial and imperialist powers were not happy.
Britain responded by imposing economic sanctions and organizing a boycott of Iranian oil. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the same steps are used against countries like Venezuela - and Iran - today.
These measures intensified the economic crisis and scarcity while the CIA propaganda machine ran campaigns to portray him as a “dictator.”
As domestic tensions increased and undercut Mossadegh’s popularity, he was forced to resign on August 19, 1953, imprisoned for three years, and then placed under house arrest until his death in 1967.
A US-backed general formed a government that worked closely with the US to strengthen the Shah’s monarchical rule in the country until the Iranian Revolution ended it all in 1979.
Almost 60 years later, declassified CIA documents admitted its role in the coup, stating that it “was carried out under CIA direction as an act of US foreign policy, conceived and approved at the highest levels of government.”
The CIA and British intelligence plot against Mossadegh, known as Operation Ajax, is a model that to this day continues to be used against countries that stand up to imperialism.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Peoples Dispatch

Peoples Dispatch Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @peoplesdispatch

Aug 18
#PeoplesHistory | August 15 marked one year since the Taliban took control over #Afghanistan, marking the end of the military occupation and war led by the #US and its #NATO allies.
Let’s look at the legacy of two decades of US-NATO imperialism and the punitive measures taken against the Taliban govt.
Read 4 tweets
Apr 25
#PeoplesHistory | 🇮🇹 Today, we celebrate # Italy's #LiberationDay, when 77 years ago, the #Partigiani defeated fascism and the German occupation in 1945.
#FestaDellaLiberazione
After a general strike & a working-class uprising in many Italian cities, the anti-fascist #Partisans, mostly led by communists, defeated Adolf Hitler's occupation armies alongside the remaining loyalists of Benito Mussolini & took control of the Northern industrial centers.
Days after liberating Milan and Turin, the Partigiani captured and executed Benito Mussolini and the leadership of the 20-year fascist dictatorship.
#FestaDellaLiberazione
Read 6 tweets
Apr 6
#PeoplesHistory | 🇧🇫 A Burkinabe court has given a long-awaited verdict and sentenced Blaise Compaore to life imprisonment for the murder of his predecessor: Burkinabe Marxist, pan-Africanist and revolutionary Thomas Sankara. Image
#Sankara was the President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987. His government focused the foreign policies on anti-imperialism, rejecting foreign aid and policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and nationalizing all land and mineral wealth. Image
The Sankara government also introduced various progressive policies, including strengthening and liberation of women, massive education and self-reliance programs. Image
Read 6 tweets
Apr 5
#PeoplesHistory | On April 5, 2010 #JulianAssange’s @WikiLeaks published the “Collateral Murder” video, which showed the gunning down of civilians, children and two @Reuters journalists, uncovering war crimes in Iraq.
“It’s very simple. People have a right to know and a right to question and challenge power. That’s a true democracy.” Julian Assange, founder and publisher of #WikiLeaks

#CollateralMurder #FreeAssangeNOW #DropTheCharges #JournalismIsNotACrime
Read 5 tweets
Jan 4
#PeoplesHistory | 🇳🇬 Since 1993, in Nigeria, 4 January is observed as the Ogoni Day to remember the Ogoni people’s peaceful struggle against discrimination, suppression and the destruction of their environment and livelihoods by oil companies and the Nigerian government. Image
On 4 January 1993, some 300,000 Ogoni people peacefully protested against Shell’s activities in the Niger Delta and the environmental destruction of Ogoniland.
In 1990, Ken Saro-Wiwa founded the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), a mass‐based social movement organization of the indigenous Ogoni people of Central Niger Delta. Image
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(