The CIA in Iran: The 1953 Coup and the Origins of the US-Iran Divide

by Christopher Petherick, Donald Newton Wilber

Few Americans today have any idea why Iran and America seem forever to be at loggerheads or even why Iran held 52 American hostages for 444 days in Tehran after the overthrow of the Shah, America's best ally in the region. Iranians remember well the 1953 CIA-orchestrated coup that forcibly removed democratically-elected Prime Minster Mohammad Mossadeq, a man dedicated to loosening the grip that the Western oil companies had over Iran and her oil. Now, for the first time, is the story of the coup d'etat that placed the dreaded Shah of Iran in power as told by former CIA operative Donald Wilber, a deep cover CIA asset in Iran at the time. Wilber lays out the whole plan - every dirty trick and rotten scheme - which so successfully removed Prime Minister Mossadeq, by all accounts a good nationalist and a wise leader. Also includes five eye-opening appendices, 20 period photos, a full index and an introduction by AFP's own Christopher Petherick. A must-read to understand why Iran has, amongst all nations, been a thorn in the side of the New World Order.

Genres: Iran

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Owen]

I felt that this history did exactly as it was intended to do. Summarize the Iranian coup through the eyes of the CIA and SIS. There is meticulous effort into naming the Generals and politicians behind orchestrating the build up to the coup and the politicking needed to ensure the rallying around the shah however I would’ve liked to see more time dedicated to the coup itself the seizing of Tehran and the propaganda efforts of the CIA and examples. I also felt that this book could get a little dull at points, mostly at the beginning and end as it serves mostly to assess further actions of the CIA, as a person not in the CIA I didn’t really get much out of this section