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A Brief History of Iran

This post from the files of Hard-boiled Dreams originally appeared on 14 November 2006.

Mohammed Mossadegh

In 1951, Iran elected it’s first Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh. He was Time Magazine’s 1951 Man of the Year.

Mossadegh was popular, and, to stop Britain from taking 85% of the profits from his country’s oil, he nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Unfortunately for democracy, this pissed off Britain and the US.

The British and US complained to the International Court of Justice, but were told to get over it. Still seeking their unfair share of Iran’s natural resources, Britain and the US launched Operation Ajax.

Operation Ajax was a CIA operation that killed over 300 demonstrators in the streets, triggered a military coup, and the Iranian democracy was overthrown. So much for spreading democracy in the Middle East.

What did the US replace democracy with? A dictatorship under the Shah. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company was renamed British Petroleum (yep, BP) and the company resumed operations in Iran.

British Petroleum

Meanwhile, a religious leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini, became an active critic of the Shah. He started a grassroots campaign against the US-installed police state. It took years, but public anger against the Shah grew until, in 1979, the people of Iran overthrew the Shah in the Iranian Revolution.

After running the Shah out of the country, Khomeini let the people decide what kind of government they wanted. All males and females over 16 were allowed to vote, and 98% voted to replace the old US-installed monarchy with an Islamic Republic.

Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, seeing Iran’s military temporarily disbanded after the revolution, launched a surprise invasion.

Rumsfeld and Saddam

Did the US defend Iran, as it defended Kuwait when Iraq invaded?

Nope, the United States and Britain, still thinking about oil profits and control of the country, provided Saddam with chemical weapons and intelligence that helped kill over 500,000 Iranians.

Iran ratified the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1970. Under the treaty, Iran has an unambiguous right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. Since 1992, Iran has allowed the IAEA to inspect its nuclear facilities.

Despite frequent rumors perpetuated by the Bush administration and the Main Stream Media, no proof has ever been presented that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

While most Americans have forgotten Operation Ajax, most people in Iran have not.

Just stating facts…

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This entry was posted on Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 at 9:26 pm and is filed under History, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “A Brief History of Iran”

Xman says:

Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 10:10 pm

But the story we all heard back here in the good old usa was that a bunch of crazy ragheads had taken over and run a truely good man out of his own country. Government/Corporate media ruled the day again, just like they do now.

During the ‘79 revolution, I was in the unique position of going to law school and hearing the revolutionary side from Iranian students while working with a son of the exiled Iranian defence minister and becoming associated with his family and friends. Turns out the guy I worked with agreed that the Shah’s government had been completely corrupt, but that it was just the fate of his family to be of the ruling class. According to my old co-worker(defence ministers son), all this Iran stuff lately, is still just about Iranian oil. He says he is amazed that after all these years of history repeating itself, that ordinary americans still don’t get it and keep believing the press and our government. Of course the “investor class” of americans know all about the true nature of our governments actions. Government has just become a tool of the corporations.

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JoeC says:

Monday, September 24, 2007 at 6:03 am

Thanks for the insight and the story, Xman. And on top of our corporate news hardly ever mentioning the full story, Iran’s President comes to our country and is denied laying a wreath at the WTC site (only OUR politicians get that photo op, thankyavermuch) and he’s denied the chance to give a speech at Columbia University…I mean, we’re not exactly extending an olive branch.

And then, the Corporate News continues to fan the flames by repeating lies and saying he wants to wipe Israel off the face of the map (see repeat in new article on CNN, which has been taken out of context and mistranslated.

But, all is fair in war, especially if you’re the war corporate war monger and you need to keep the economy afloat by selling a new generation of weapons.

Reply
pelmo says:

Monday, September 24, 2007 at 7:52 am

Xman, isn’t it nice when you can get the other side of the story, and then you can make your own decision on whose side of the story to believe.

Joe, I am irate as you at our refusal to let him lay the wreath. It would have been a a no loose situation for us. If he just laid the wreath out of respect, the olive branch would have been extended to him. If he used it as propaganda we would come out smelling like a rose in letting him do so, and he would look like the idiot to the rest of the world. But no, our arrogance won’t even allow simple gestures . Heaven forbid we might look human to the rest of the world.

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Xman says:

Monday, September 24, 2007 at 8:23 am

Yep, I don’t think it serves the purposes of our ruling class to make nice. Nice is not the point. Rape and pillage is….that and keeping us afraid and ignorant so they can keep raping and pillaging.
At some point, do we just have to accept this is the nature of man (predator) or maybe it is just evil?

If I was the rest of the world and if I was any different, I’d be forming alliances to ultimately be able to stand alone and isolate the good old USA. We are acting like an out of control cancerous organism.

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pelmo says:

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 6:46 am

We have become and are viewed as an arrogant nation. Not like before when we were just a proud nation, in who we were and what we could accomplish.

We worked and played well with others. Now we are just bullies on the playground. Whining and crying if we don’t get our way.

Reply
Indigobusiness says:

Wednesday, September 26, 2007 at 11:26 am

I fear Pelmo has lurched into lucidity.

Reply
Be a Good Daughter says:

Saturday, October 27, 2007 at 4:38 pm

Thanks your article is amazing.
I like your site..
thank you again

Reply
dashda » Blog Archiv » A Brief History of Iran says:

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at 4:40 pm

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A Brief History of Iran

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