CIA finally admits it was behind 1953 coup which deposed Iranian prime minister who stood up to the West

Mohammad Mossadegh was deposed in a military coup on August 19, 1953

CIA and MI6 have long been thought to have orchestrated the operation

But today U.S. officials admitted responsibility for the first time ever



Deposed: Mohammah Mossadegh was removed as Iran's prime minister in a CIA coup whose details have just been revealed for the first time

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the coup in Iran which deposed prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh after he restricted the flow of oil to the West.



However, it is only now, six decades on, that the CIA has finally admitted that it was behind the revolution, which was one of the most significant landmarks in modern Iranian history.



It has long been widely acknowledged that the U.S. and British authorities were behind Mossadegh's overthrow - one factor behind the anti-Western sentiments shared by many in Iran which led to the 1979 Islamist revolution in the country.



However, the CIA has never publicised its role in the operation, claiming that it needs to maintain secrecy in order to protect its working methods and sources of information.



But today the agency released documents to the National Security Archive in which it admits that the coup 'was carried out under CIA direction as an act of U.S. foreign policy'.

The operation, codenamed 'TPAJAX', was 'conceived and approved at the highest levels of government', the documents - entitled 'The Battle for Iran' and compiled in the 1970s - reveal.



The agency admits that the coup, which saw the Shah persuaded to sack Mossadegh and replace him with Fazlollah Zahedi, was a 'last resort' and a 'policy of desperation'.

It took place on August 19, 1953, after negotiations between Britain and Iran over securing UK access to Iranian oil broke down.



Populist: Mossadegh alienated the West by nationalising Iran's oil supplies which were controlled by Britain

MI6 is thought to have asked the CIA to remove Mossadegh and install a pro-Western leader, and the U.S. authorities readily agreed as a way of getting the upper hand over the Soviets in the Cold War.



The internal dossier says: 'It was the potential of those risks to leave Iran open to Soviet aggression that compelled the United States in planning and executing TPAJAX.'

One alternative possibility was a unilateral invasion of Iran by British forces, similar to the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt during the Suez crisis three years later.

However, that prospect was apparently unacceptable to the U.S., as it would lead to a Soviet backlash and the West would permanently lose access to Iran's oil supply.

Coup: Soldiers and tanks stand in the streets of Tehran after the deposition of Mossadegh in August 1953

Historic: The coup led to a strong anti-Western legacy in Iran, culminating in the 1979 Islamic revolution

THE DARING COUP WHICH TURNED IRAN AGAINST THE WEST FOR EVER

Mohammed Mossadegh was elected as prime minister of Iran in April 1951, and quickly set about opposing the British authorities who had long dominated the Middle Eastern country.

Around the time he came to power, the Iranian parliament voted to nationalise the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, taking the country's oil supply into its own hands.

Britain fiercely opposed this move, and opted to blockade Iran in order to prevent it from selling its oil to anyone else.

This put severe strain on the national finances, but the fiercely patriotic Mossadegh refused to back down and set about shoring up his power.

The CIA and MI6 managed to persuade the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, to support Fazlollah Zahedi as a replacement prime minister at the head of a military junta.

They orchestrated street protests and arranged a national propaganda campaign which led to Mossadegh's downfall on August 19, 1953.

The deposed leader was sentenced to three years in prison, then spent the rest of his life under house arrest before dying in 1967.

The Shah, emboldened by his newfound power, became an autocratic leader who ruled the country with an iron fist until his downfall in the Islamic revolution.

'The Soviet army would have moved south to drive British forces out on behalf of their Iranian "allies",' the CIA documents say.



'Then not only would Iran's oil have been irretrievably lost to the West, but the defence chain around the Soviet Union which was part of U.S. foreign policy would have been breached.'



They continue: 'Under such circumstances, the danger of a third world war seemed very real.'



Although the coup was extremely successful in the short term, with Mossadegh being swiftly removed and imprisoned, its long-term effects were less positive.



The U.S. intervention in Iran's internal politics created a strong strain of anti-American sentiment in the country, which culminated in the hostage crisis following the Islamic revolution of 1979.



The UK's involvement in the coup - which has never been officially recognised - also created a backlash within Iran, with many regarding Britain with even more hostility than they do the U.S.



The newly released CIA documents acknowledge these ill effects, stating the the coup is regarded by many observers as being 'near the top of their list of infamous Agency acts'.



While the CIA itself has never previously alluded to its role in carrying out the coup, officials as senior as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have acknowledged that the operation had U.S. backing.



It is unclear why intelligence chiefs have now decided to own up to the true origins of the coup.