The Shah's order (known as a firman) naming Zahedi the new prime minister. Coup operatives made copies of the document and circulated it around Tehran to help regenerate momentum following the collapse of the original plan. (Courtesy of Ted Hotchkiss)

CIA Confirms Role in 1953 Iran Coup Documents Provide New Details on Mosaddeq Overthrow and Its Aftermath National Security Archive Calls for Release of Remaining Classified Record National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 435 Posted – August 19, 2013 Edited by Malcolm Byrne For more information contact: Malcolm Byrne 202/994-7043 or mbyrne@gwu.edu

Related Links Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup in Iran By Mark J. Gasiorowski and Malcolm Byrne, Syracuse University Press, May 1, 2004 Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup in Iran June 22, 2004 The Secret CIA History of the Iran Coup, 1953 November 29, 2000 CIA Secrecy Claims Are "Facially Incredible," Says Lawsuit August 2, 2000 The 1953 Coup 60 Years On: A Symposium July 24, 2013 Kermit Roosevelt, chief of CIA's Near East operations division, and on-the-ground manager of the U.S.-U.K. coup plan. Donald N. Wilber, an archeologist and authority on ancient Persia, served as lead U.S. planner of TPAJAX (along with British SIS officer Norman Darbyshire). He wrote the first CIA history of the operation (Document 1). Tanks guard a downtown thoroughfare in Tehran during the coup. (National Security Archive collections) The house of ousted Prime Minister Mosaddeq lies in ruins after a prolonged assault by coup forces, including several tanks. (Stephen Langlie, courtesy of Mark Gasiorowski) General Zahedi (right) emerging from a safehouse on the afternoon of August 19. By this time, the coup's outcome has been determined. (Courtesy of Ted Hotchkiss) Zahedi (center, wearing white shirt) atop a tank on his way to the Radio Transmission Station to address the nation. (Courtesy of Ted Hotchkiss) After the overthrow, an uneasy alliance obtained between the Shah (right) and his new prime minister. (www.iichs.org) Several coup participants gather. Front row, from left: Ardeshir Zahedi (the prime minister's son, later ambassador to Washington), Abbas Farzanegan, Fazlollah Zahedi, Nader Batmanqelich, Hedayatollah Guilanshah. Nematollah Nassiri, who attempted to serve Mosaddeq with a firman from the Shah, is directly behind the prime minister. (www.iichs.org)