Fifty-five years ago, on Aug. 19, 1953, America's CIA carried out a coup in Iran that removed from power Mohammad Mossadeq, Iran's first-ever democratically elected prime minister.

- 18 / 08 / 2008 11:53

Amanda Akcakoca

The US was acting on behalf of the British, who had been expelled from Iran by Mossadeq. The British hated Mossadeq and he them. His rise to power was a result of his strong desire to free Iran from foreign interference -- allowing Iranians to rule themselves and not submit to the will of foreigners, as had been the case for decades. The British, having made Iran a "protectorate," virtually controlled political and economic life to the degree that it was London deciding who should or should not rule. The British wanted to keep their hands on Iran's oil wealth, which was controlled by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later to become BP). The deal they cut resulted in Tehran being cheated out of its fair share of the financial gains. Downing Street lined its coffers and became rich while the Iranian workers lived in conditions more suitable to farm animals. Mossadeq's plans to nationalize Iran's oil industry infuriated the British. The shah, who was keen to see Mossadeq disappear, as Mossadeq's passion for the rule of law and democracy made him an enemy of the autocrat, was persuaded to support the coup.

The US, under President Dwight Eisenhower, carried out an operation led by CIA operative Kim Roosevelt. Back in the '50s the British were able to pull the strings of the US, and they convinced Eisenhower that the threat of communism coming to Iran was being underestimated by Mossadeq and that the only way forward was to remove him. At that time, the US was able to lure Iran into a false sense of trust, as the US was viewed as a friendly and trustworthy nation. Mossadeq was brought before a military court and charged with treason. He was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by house arrest for life.

The coup set off a series of unintended results: It gave the shah the opportunity to become a dictator and it changed the course of the nation's history when, 25 years later, the Islamic revolution swept across the country. Today, Iran has become a nation that is suspicious of everything and everyone. Iranians feel the international community has treated them very unfairly by portraying them as Islamic fundamentalists. During the eight-year war with invading Iraq, when the entire world seemed to side with Iraq, the UN did not consider Saddam Hussein's invasion a threat to international peace and security. It took the UN Security Council more than two years to call for a withdrawal and another five before it addressed Saddam's use of chemical weapons. Iranians feel they have been isolated and excluded like no other country. There have been no approaches similar to those made to China and North Korea. Rather, Iran has been left in economic hardship from sanctions, which in the early days at least were very questionably imposed and almost certainly the work of the Jewish lobby in Washington, which is totally opposed to any rapprochement between the US and Iran that would allow Iran the opportunity to become a major player in the region and on the world stage. Iran, a country rich in energy resources, has been left with a crippled economy unable to even supply its own people's needs. As is well known, Iran vexed its own situation by resorting to supporting terrorism through proxy and by defying the international community with its nuclear program.

Over the years there have been many lost opportunities for rapprochement between the US and Iran, the latest being when the US ignored an Iranian proposal for wide-ranging negotiations to settle all outstanding differences in 2003. This was a big slap in the face and, to that end, Iran is not going to give up its nuclear ambitions without receiving something very big in return. Iran should not be viewed as a lost cause and has the potential to be a strong partner of the West. The world quickly forgets how helpful Iran was to the US in its initial operations in Afghanistan. In private the US and Iran met and cooperated very successfully. Iran provided the US with considerable assistance with its Operation Enduring Freedom, and at the Bonn Rebuilding Afghanistan Conference in November 2001 it was Iran working behind the scenes that really made the conference a success.

Talk on bombing Iran is dangerous and unjustified. It may take time for regime change to happen, but all the signs show that Iran has the building blocks in place to move toward democracy in the future. Iran is a real test for US foreign policy. The US needs to sit with Iran and thrash out once and for all their issues. The international community should approach Iran for talks with no pre-conditions attached. Let us get everything on the table and let us discuss everything. Let us find out exactly what the Iranians want. Let us not waste any more time.