Before 1979, There Was 1953
For the West, Iran’s history conveniently hits “play” in 1979, erasing years of imperial crimes that made the revolution inevitable. Revolutions are never manufactured, they erupt from the will of the people.
In 1953, Britain and the US helped overthrow Iran’s elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh after his government nationalised oil. The Shah was restored, foreign oil interests returned, and the coup left a lasting scar. Iran’s history with Western intervention did not begin in 1979.