N0 362 British Memoramizm 1 TOP SECRET 2 SEPTEMBER 1953 PERSIA POLITICAL REVIEW OF THE RECENT CRISIS Phase I 1 The following is a narrative of the circumstances which culmi- nated in the events of the 19th 215t August 1No information is available in Department of State les regarding the British Government source of this document In form however it resembles documentation originating either with the Foreign Of ce in London or the British Embassy in Continued IRAN 1952 1954 781 2 On 11th July the text of the letters exchanged between Dr Musaddiq and President Eisenhower was published in the Persian press Political circles in Teheran considered the President s reply as the nal word of the USA in the oil dispute and American Embassy of cials claimed that it had been drafted after careful consideration of the consequences involved including the probable drift of Dr Musaddiq into the Soviet camp 3 On 20th July General Zahidi who had been in sanctuary in the Majlis during the previous two months left the Majlis premises after receiving an assurance from the government that he would not be molested as long as he did not indulge in anti-government activities 4 By 25th July General Zahidi s whereabouts were unknown and it was rumoured that he was in hiding Reliable reports indi- cated that he was secretly in touch with the Shah and the Ameri- can Embassy It was widely believed that the US Government fa- voured the overthrow of Dr Musaddiq s government 5 On 26th July Mr Henderson the American Ambassador who was in Europe on holiday was visited by Mr Melbourne the Chief of the Political department of the American Embassy in Teheran There were many rumours to the effect that the American Embas- sy favoured General Zahidi as successor to Dr Musaddiq while the Shah who did not repose much con dence in Zahidi preferred someone else 6 On 27th July it was reported that Princess Ashraf s visit to Te- heran was connected with certain activities behind the scenes 7 Mr Dulles statement at his press conference on the 29th July that he was concerned about growing communist activities in Iran was regarded in Teheran as a warning to Dr Musaddiq to stop flirting with the Tudeh and Soviet Russia 8 Certain personalities who are in very close contact with the Shah were reported to have stated on the 3rd August that the Shah had declared that great changes would take place shortly It was believed that General Schwartzkopf former American adviser to the Persian Gendarm rie who had an audience with the Shah had discussed with him the full details of a military coup d tat 9 Government circles showed great apprehension at President Eisenhower s statement of August 4th to the effect that he would take the necessary steps to st0p Persia going behind the Iron Cur- tain 2 Washington Furthermore there is no information in Department les as to how or when this memorandum was transmitted to the Department of State Byroade s ini- tial inscribed by Byroade himself appears in the upper right margin of the source text 2See footnote 3 Document 340 782 FOREIGN RELATIONS 1952 1954 VOLUME 10 On the 8th August the Tudeh press declared that a militar coup tat was being planned by the Shah 11 According to reports received on the 9th August secret meet ings were taking place between the Shah General Zahidi and cer tain American Embassy of cials 12 On 11th August the Shah and the Queen left for Ramsar 01 the Caspian Sea for a holiday 13 On 13th August the Shah issued a rman dismissing Dr Mu saddiq and appointed General Zahidi Prime Minister This rmar was secretly conveyed from Ramsar to Teheran by Colonel Nasiri Commander of the Imperial Guard 14 On the 14th August the Tudeh press published further detail about the suspected military coup d tat It was widely rumoured ir Teheran that the Tudeh Party was supplying the Prime Ministe1 with information on the movements of army units The Prime Min ister was reported to have issued instructions to the general staf to take measures for countering the coup 15 Late on the evening of the 15th August Colonel Nasiri went to the house of the Prime Minister and delivered a copy of the Royal rman to the of cer in charge of the troops defending Dr Musaddiq s house As soon as he left the house he was arrested It seems that the plan was for the Imperial Guards to occupy the general staff and Police headquarters the radio station and other important centres at the same time that the rman was being de- livered to Dr Musaddiq s house Something went wrong and the plan failed It was believed that junior of cers in the Guards Regi- ment who had Tudeh sympathies disrupted the plan 16 On the 16th August the Government announced the failure of the coup tat Mass meetings were held demanding the establish- ment of a republic Soon after the radio had broadcast that the coup d tat had failed the Shah and the Queen left Ramsar for Baghdad Phase II 1 On the 17th August crowds of Tudeh and other government supporters smashed and pulled down four statues of the Shah s father which stood in public squares of Teheran A statue of the present Shah erected in the public park was also overturned In all government of ces photographs of the Shah were pulled down and trampled on The same thing happened in the provinces Youths mostly Tudeh followers roamed the city streets shouting Death to the Shah and End the dynasty The pro-government and Tudeh press published editorials demanding the establishment of a repub- IRAN 1952 1954 783 lie and claiined that the Shah was no longer monarch because he had ed the country Dr Fatimi the Minister of Foreign Affairs published under his own signature a most venomous and scurrilous article against the Shah in his newspaper Bakhtar-E Imrouz 2 The Government spokesman announced that Persia had re- quested Iraq to take the necessary steps to avoid any incident be- tween two friendly and neighbouring countries He also stated that the Persian Ambassador and his staff in Baghdad had been in- structed to avoid all contact with the Shah 3 Dr Musaddiq and his National Front advisers were in confer- ence all day to nd a solution to the dif culties which had arisen Tudeh Party leaders were urging Dr Musaddiq to issue a decree stating that the monarchy had ended in Persia and had been re- placed by a republic They assured him that he would be elected as the rst president of the Persian republic It was learned that Dr Musaddiq was opposed to this suggestion and that for the time being be favoured the establishment of a Regency Council com- posed of three of his nominees He proposed that after appoint- ment of the Council a second referendum should be held to obtain public con rmation of this action Throughout the day emissaries went back and forth between the Tudeh and the Prime Minister to reconcile these two views In the end a compromise was found under which a Regency Council was to be established at once and a third referendum was to be held later to establish the Will of the people regarding the republic The Government spokesman announced that no change of regime was contemplated by the government but that a council or other appropriate body would have to be established in order to carry out the duties of the Shah who had deserted the country 4 The Opposition press published photographs of the Royal Firman which appointed General Zahidi Prime Minister and stated that in the absence of the Majlis the Shah was the sole au thority empowered to dismiss and appoint Prime Ministers There- fore Dr Musaddiq s government was no longer lawful and should be considered as in rebellion against the legal government of the country 5 It was learned on the 17th August that General Zahidi had succeeded in winning over the commander of the motorised regi- ment as well as the Chief of Police It was also established that a second attempt would shortly be made to overthrow Musaddiq s government 6 Mr Henderson the American Ambassador arrived in Tehe- ran 784 FOREIGN RELATIONS 1952 1954 VOLUME On the 18th August hundreds of Tudeh demonstrators parad- ed the streets and demanding the establishment of a Democratic Republic Tudeh leaders warned Musaddiq that a second military coup was in preparation to overthrow his government They asked him to supply them with 10 000 ri es and small arms so that they could defend his government In reply Dr Musaddiq asked for more de- tails which apparently the Tudeh were not in a position to supply The Shah and the Queen left Baghdad for Rome and the pro-gov- ernment press continued to state that his departure from the coun- try amounted to his abdication It was learned that the Shah s de- parture from Baghdad had relieved government circles to some extent because they feared that he might have gone to Tabriz and started a movement against the central government from there Dr Musaddiq and his advisers were busy throughout the 18 August putting the nal touches to the inauguration of the Regen- cy Council and arranging details for holding the second referen- dum Mr Henderson called on the Prime Minister during the afternoon Their meeting ended abruptly According to well placed sources it was soon after this that the plans for the events of the 19th of August were put into operation On this occasion only the commanders of regiments the Chief of Police and Ayatullah Bihbihani who was responsible for organiz- ing demonstrations knew of the plan and the Tudeh had therefore no chance of discovering the plot beforehand 8 About 8 am on the 19th August a crowd of about 3 000 men armed with clubs and sticks started an anti-Musaddiq and pro- Shah demonstration in the Southern part of the town They roamed through the streets shouting Long Live the Shah and Death to Musaddiq the traitor Most of these men although possi- bly inspired by royalist sentiments had obviously been hired for the purpose among them there were a large number of unem- ployed persons and many well-known hooligans About the same time the Chief of Police issued orders that demonstrators should not be interfered with Part of the crowd proceeded to the bazaar and threatened to loot the shops The effect was instantaneous and the bazaars were closed The crowd grew as time went on and a large number of well-to-do people who resented Musaddiq s government and spe- cially his recent pro Tudeh policy joined the demonstrators A large number of lorries and busses hired early in the morning then appeared on the scene and provided demonstrators with free transport These vehicles then roamed through the town and their IRAN 1952 1954 785 occupants shouted slogans and began a war of nerves to arouse emotions in favour of the Shah It soon became evident that the whole police force was showing sympathy for the demonstrators and that police of cers were in some cases directing the movement of demonstrators Dr Musaddiq at once dismissed the Chief of Police and ordered that he should be arrested He also instructed the army to send tanks and armoured cars to disperse the crowds Naturally the orders issued by the general staff were not obeyed immediately and when they were carried out a few hours later soldiers arriving on the scene were easily persuaded by the crowds to join them in defence of the Shah Between 9 and 12 00 a m the headquarters of three pro-govern- ment political parties and of ces of half a dozen newspapers sup- porting Dr Musaddiq were ransacked by demonstrators and set on re The crowd then attacked the of ces of the Tudeh newspapers where they met some resistance which was soon overcome Truckloads of soldiers armoured cars and tanks were dispersed throughout the town by lunch time and in certain instances re was opened on the crowd In most cases however tr00ps joined the demonstrators At 2 30 pm the radio station was captured by General Zahidi s followers and the speaker announced that the rising had been suc- cessful that Dr Fatimi had been torn to pieces that all govern- ment of ces had been captured and that Dr Musaddiq had ed These false reports had an immediate effect throughout the capital and the country and demoralised supporters of the government who might have wished to resist The announcer then read the Royal Firman appointing General Zahidi Prime Minister A little later General Zahidi spoke over the radio and announced the pro- gramme of his government Between 2 30 and 3 30 General Staff Headquarters and other government of ces were captured without much resistance By 4 pm General Zahidi was master of the situation and had estab- lished his headquarters at the Central Police Of ce Then came the attack on Dr Musaddiq s house At rst a large crowd attacked his residence but were driven back by machine-gun re and many people were killed and wounded A second attack supported by pro- Zahidi troops also failed By this time heavy Sherman tanks ar- rived on the scene and started bombarding the house About 6 pm the defence of the house was given up and the gate was broken down The crowd then entered the house looted all its contents and set re to it The house of Dr Musaddiq s son which is situated next door was treated in a similar manner In the evening all po- litical prisoners were set free and General Zahidi assumed power 786 FOREIGN RELATIONS 1952 1954 VOLUME It was reported that at 10 00 am Dr Musaddiq had telephoned his Tudeh friends and expressed his willingness to supply them with arms but they declined the Offer and said that it came too late It is widely believed that the success of the coup was due to the fact that it was well planned that it was kept secret and that plenty of money was made available to carry it out 9 Throughout the 20th August General Zahidi was consolidating his position and selecting his colleagues to serve in the cabinet He announced that all army of cers placed on the retired list by Dr Musaddiq could apply to the General Staff for reinstatement Dr Musaddiq Dr Shayegan Dr Sadiqi and Mr Moazzami who had fled from Dr Musaddiq s house and had taken refuge in a nearby house on the previous day were discovered and arrested Orders were issued for the arrest of all National Front leaders Dr Musaddiq and his three colleagues were taken to the Of cers Club for detention All those of cers who carried out Dr Musaddiq s orders yesterday were arrested It is estimated that over 50 persons were killed on the 19th August and that 300 were wounded 10 The Shah The Shah returned to Teheran on the 22nd August and was met at the airport by members of the government senior army Of cers and members of the diplomatic corps He drove from the airport to his Summer Palace escorted by armoured cars and tanks In the evening he broadcast to the nation thanking them for their support and for their valiant rising in defence of the independence of the country which he said was gravely endangered He added that he would gladly give his life for the people who had shown such mag- ni cent loyalty and pledged himself to serve the nation He con- cluded by saying that all those who had violated the Constitution would shortly be brought to trial General opinion was that recent events had again con rmed that the monarchy was still popular in Persia because of its historic traditions It was considered to be the symbol of national independ ence and sovereignty and the bulwark against communism The future popularity of the Shah was generally agreed to be depend- ent on whether he acted as a strict constitutional monarch or whether he resorted to his previous practices which had made him so unpopular in recent years It should not be forgotten that meas- ures adopted by Dr Musaddiq tO restrict the Shah s interference in the army had the universal support Of the peOple and that any future infringement of the Constitution by the Shah would be met by the opposition of all progressive elements in the country 11 The Majlis IRAN 1952 1954 787 It was learned that the government considered the dissolution of the Majlis and the recent referendum as invalid and that they pro- posed to hold elections in the constituencies which did not elect members of the 17th Majlis and which could return 57 members This number together with the 23 members who had not resigned would provide the necessary quorum for the Majlis to meet The members of the Senate also claimed that the dissolution of their house carried out by Dr Musaddiq was invalid This is how- ever a controversial question which does not seem to have much popular support 12 The Oil Dispute In reply to a question put to him by Mullah Kashani General Zahidi stated that he did not propose to pay any compensation and that he was not in favour of the A I O C returning to Iran At a press conference General Zahidi said that the most urgent problem for Persia was the introduction of internal reforms the settlement of the oil problem must come afterwards It was believed however that these statements should not be taken as of cial commitments as they were primarily designed to calm down public anxiety It was taken for granted that the settle- ment of the oil dispute would be one of the rst problems to be tackled by any government However everybody agreed that no useful purpose would be served by initiating any discussions until the government had undone the previous government s propaganda and removed past misrepresentations A healthy and calm atmos- phere was required before reasonable discussions and negotiations could take place 13 Perm-American Relations The general feeling in Teheran among in uential people was one of jubilation that the USA should have come to the country's rescue when Dr Musaddiq was about to deliver it to the Tudeh Party There was general agreement that were it not for America s assistance and guidance its nancial contribution and its encour- agement to the Shah to withstand further humiliation the plan for the overthrowing of Musaddiq s government could not have suc- ceeded Unfortunately it appeared that these in uential persons re- garded American support as something obligatory and continuous which would enable them always to shelter behind it and continue as in the past without paying any real attention to the basic needs of the country 14 The New Government General Zahidi presented his government to the Shah on the 23rd August No ministers for War Interior Foreign Affairs and Post Telegraphs were named These ministries were to be admin- istered by Under-secretaries until Ministers were appointed in the 788 FOREIGN RELATIONS 1952 1954 VOLUME meantime General Zahidi proposed to keep a close watch on them himself Three of the Under-secretaries are military men and the cabinet has the appearance of being dominated by the army The general public seemed greatly disappointed with the new cabinet and many observers believed that it would have a short life 15 The Tudeh Since the fall of Dr Musaddiq the Tudeh has kept a complete silence and all its newspapers have been suppressed The bazaars have been closed since the 19th August owing to Tudeh intrigues and threats that if they opened their shops they would be looted The government was endeavoring to persuade the merchants to open their shops and of ces but up to the evening of the 23rd no success was achieved All indications were that the Tudeh was mobilising itself for a general attack on the Shah and the new government It was learned that the Tudeh was trying to enlist the backing of all those who had supported the previous government all the progressive elements who had already been disappointed with the new govern- ment in order to form a united front Well-informed observers be- lieved that the Tudeh would become very much more active in the near future 15 sic Certain in uential persons were reported to consider that it was essential for the new government to put forward a radi- cal and progressive policy Otherwise it would provide the extrem- ists of the left with ample opportunities for exploiting any signs of reaction These same in uential circles were believed to be tending to- wards considering that the appointment of General Zahidi would in itself encourage the Tudeh on the grounds that the allegations of incompetence and corruption which were being levelled against him would enable the Tudeh to point to him as a mere paid crea- ture of the U S A On the other hand it is also reported that there were certain well placed persons who considered that General Zahidi was the best man to deal with the situation under existing circumstances but that he would eventually be replaced by someone more politi- cally acceptable                     National Security Archive    Suite 701  Gelman Library  The George Washington University    2130 H Street  NW  Washington  D C  20037    Phone  202 994‐7000  Fax  202 994‐7005  nsarchiv@gwu edu