Nationalization of the oil industry under Mossadegh

Nationalization of the oil industry under Mossaded, and how it led to the Islamic Revolution of 1979

The premiership of Muhammad Mossaded was one shrouded with controversy and ended with the clear mark of US and British imperialism. He was a highly symbolized figure who represented a potential path Iran could take that was less radical than theocracy and less autocratic than the monarchy. Mossadegh’s most signature move was the nationalization of the Anglo Iranian oil company and the ensuing coup that overthrew his government.

The Anglo Iranian oil company was set up by the Shah Mozaffar ad-Din who’s sold the explorational rights of oil reserves found in Iran to a wealthy British businessman named William Knox D'Arcy, thus beginning decades of British control over one of Iran’s most precious natural resources which was its oil. When Mossadegh came to power, the package of reforms he enacted also included the nationalization of the British controlled British-Iranian oil company. Mossadegh was faced, at the time, a massive oil giant who was ’s heavily influenced by the British government operating the exploration of Iranian oil reserves while the Iranian government could only have 16% of the share of revenues of the oil on their sovereign territory. Mossadegh’s nationalization included the auditing of the Anglo-Iranian oil company’s books to ensure the promised royalty for the Iranian side was paid Upon refusal, the legislation to nationalize the oil industry was passed by the Majlis with a majority of votes. On March 17 the Majlis verified the nationalization of the Iran oil industry and the AIOC was nationalized.

Mossadegh’s government faced immediate consequences after their nationalization move. The British convinced the US government to cooperate on a plan to overthrow the Mossadegh government and install the shah as a pro American absolute monarch. The plan was successful as the pro shah troops stormed the home of Mossadegh and a military junta was installed followed by the return of the Shah as an absolute monarch. The overthrow of Mossadegh left a powder keg that exploded in 1979. The joint US British push that ended the reformers in Iran made the Iranian people increasingly resentful of the Shah’s rule which was installed by foreign intervention, contributing to the anti-American aspect of the 1979 Islamic revolution. In nature, the overthrow of the moderate reformists cleared the way for more extreme people like Ayatollah Khomeini to exploit Iran’s aspiration of national independence and twist it toward a religious movement. (Very true.However, as you know, Shiism has deep roots in Iran, and it is not surprising that the revolution took this turn)The Shah, upon the overthrow of Mossadegh, brutally suppressed the Communists and the secular nationalists with his extensive use of the secret police(Savak), leaving a power vacuum that was filled by the Islamic clerics, some of whom were paid by Washinton in 1953. With no other outlet for dissent, the Islamic movement became the sole and leading voice for Iranian resentment of the Shah and of his close ties to the US, providing fuel to the 1979 revolution. The coup delegitimized the monarchy, emasculated the Majlis, and empowered the autocratic Islamists all at the same time, setting the stage for the 1979 Revolution.