1953 Iranian coup d'état in the context of "Iran–Israel relations"

The Iranian Revolution or the Islamic Revolution was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Imperial State of Iran by the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the monarchical government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was superseded by Ruhollah Khomeini, an Islamist cleric who had headed one of the rebel factions. The ousting of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, formally marked the end of Iran's historical monarchy.

In 1953, the CIA- and MI6-backed 1953 Iranian coup d'état overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, who had nationalized the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. The coup reinstated Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as an absolute monarch and significantly increased United States influence over Iran.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Persian: محمدرضا پهلوی [mohæmˈmæd reˈzɒː pæhlæˈviː]) (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution led by Ruhollah Khomeini, which abolished the Iranian monarchy to establish the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 1967, he took the title Shahanshah (lit. 'King of Kings'), and also held several others, including Aryamehr (lit. 'Light of the Aryans') and Bozorg Arteshtaran (lit. 'Grand Army Commander'). He was the second and last ruling monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty.

During World War II, the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran forced the abdication of Reza Shah and succession of Mohammad Reza Shah. During his reign, the British-owned oil industry was nationalized by the prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had support from Iran's national parliament to do so; however, Mosaddegh was overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, which was carried out by the Iranian military under the aegis of the United Kingdom and the United States. Subsequently, the Iranian government centralized power under the Shah and brought foreign oil companies back into the country's industry through the Consortium Agreement of 1954.

Mohammad Mosaddegh (Persian: محمد مصدق, IPA: [mohæmˈmæd(-e) mosædˈdeɢ] ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of the Iranian parliament from 1923, and served through a contentious 1952 election into the 17th Iranian Majlis, until his government was overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état aided by the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom (MI6) and the United States (CIA), led by Kermit Roosevelt Jr. His National Front was suppressed from the 1954 election.

Before its removal from power, his administration introduced a range of social and political measures such as social security, land reforms and higher taxes including the introduction of taxation on the rent of land. His time as prime minister was marked by the clash with the British government, known as Abadan Crisis, following the nationalisation of the Iranian oil industry, which had been built by the British on Persian lands since 1913 through the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC/AIOC), later known as British Petroleum (BP).

Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following his landslide victory over Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 presidential election. Four years later, in the 1956 presidential election, he defeated Stevenson again, to win re-election in a larger landslide. Eisenhower was constitutionally limited to two terms (the first re-elected President to be so) and was succeeded by Democrat John F. Kennedy, who won the 1960 presidential election.

Eisenhower held office during the Cold War, a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Eisenhower's New Look policy stressed the importance of nuclear weapons as a deterrent to military threats, and the United States built up a stockpile of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems during Eisenhower's presidency. Soon after taking office, Eisenhower negotiated an end to the Korean War, resulting in the partition of Korea. Following the Suez Crisis, Eisenhower promulgated the Eisenhower Doctrine, strengthening U.S. commitments in the Middle East. In response to the Cuban Revolution, the Eisenhower administration broke ties with Cuba and began preparations for an invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles, eventually resulting in the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. Eisenhower also allowed the Central Intelligence Agency to engage in covert actions, such as the 1953 Iranian coup d'état and the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état.

Throughout its history and up to the present day, the United States has had close ties with authoritarian governments. During the Cold War, the U.S. backed anti-communist governments that were authoritarian, and were often unable or unwilling to promote modernization. U.S. officials have been accused of collaborating with oppressive and anti-democratic governments to secure their military bases in Central America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Economist Democracy Index classifies many of the forty-five currently non-democratic U.S. military base host countries as "authoritarian governments".

During the Cold War, the U.S. provided support for state terrorism and anti-communist mass killings, including Operation Condor in South America and the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66. In cases like the 1953 Iranian, 1954 Guatemalan, and 1973 Chilean coup d'états, the United States participated in the overthrow of democratically elected governments in favor of dictators who aligned with the United States. The U.S.' claimed justification for support of authoritarian right-wing governments was the resulting stability that would facilitate economic progress and the idea that democratic institutions could be encouraged and built. Some critical scholars and journalists argue that it was intended to reinforce American business interests and to expand capitalism into countries of the Global South who were attempting to pursue alternative paths.