What was Operation Ajax?
- Augus 1953
Coup d’etat funded by the UK and US removing Mosaddegh from power and restoring Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi’s power (Iran had a consitutional monarchy - Shah only symbol with limited legal power)
why did the US and UK want to remove Mosaddegh
he didnt like the West taking so much of Irans oil
- wealth taken from country
- propsed to nationalise oil because it should belong to Iranians
-> dangerous to west
UK role pre Operation Ajax
- established presence in country during WW2 protecting vital supply route to Soviet Union (ally) and preventing Germany from getting that oil
- after war: effectively retained control over Irans oil by establishing Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
UK role in Operation Ajax
after Mosaddegh got power:
- first tried to convince Shah to remove Mossaddegh through executive order by head of government
- ploy failed and enhanced Mossaddeghs reputation while diminishing Shah
- didnt want to shoulder responsibility of proper Coup, so convinced US to join forces
- played on cold war fears that Mossaddegh (anti communist) would align himself with Tudeh from Iranian Communist Party
US role in Operation Ajax
- took leading role in operation
- CIA funded agents to harrass religious and political leaders + a media disinformation campaign
- CIA prepared royal decrees for Shah to sign, formally dismissing Mossaddegh, appoiting Zahedi as PM
-> Shah hesitated out of fear it will cost him his throne
Operation Ajax initially
- faltered
- CIA - backing forces (helped through street mobs and military)
-> Mossaddegh arrested
-> Shah returned to power
-> autocratic monarch until 1979
Operation Ajax outcomes
- hundreds of deaths
- deepend Iranian distrust towards US and UK
- widely seen as root cause of anti-Western sentiment in Iran -> leading to Iranian revolution
What was the White Revolution
- aggressive modernisation programme implemented in Iran
- 1963-1979
- reforms through Shah
- drastically changed wealth and influence of traditional landowing classes
- altered rural communities through rapid urbanisation, westernisation
- economically successful BUT benefits unevely distributed
White Revolution Land Reform
redistributed land to tentant farmers instead of small number of absente landlords that own large areas of agricultural lands, while the majority of rural populations consisted of landless peasants
- not only economic but also political challenge (dismantly power base of traditional landed aristocracy that often posed challenge to monarchy > creating new class of loyal peasants)
White Revolution Education
- educated populace = modernisation and industrialisation
- creation of literacy corpse
-> conscripted young, educated Iranians (esp. with uni degrees) > dispatched to rural areas to teach reading and writing - bridge educational gap between urban and rural populations
- made starting point to improve literacy rate, but rate quality of education in remote areas was still subpar (program sometimes faced resistance from traditional communities)
White Revolution Industrial growth
- leveraging vast oil reserves = invesment into developing modern industrial base
- steel, petrochemicals, automotive manufacturing, consumer goods
- diversifying economy away from reliance on oil exports (creating employment opportunities for growing populace)
- large manufacturies + industrial complexes = large increase in manufacturing output and emergence of new working class
White Revolution, negative aspect rapid urbanisation
- many found small plots from land reform insufficient to sustain a living + lacked resources to adopt modern farming techniques
- migration and overcrowding
- unemployment in major cities
White Revolution, negative aspect extended family
- traditional support system within Iranian culture
- deteriorated as more young Iranians migrated into major cities in search of work, far from home
White Revolution, negative aspect liberisation of laws for women
- Shi’l leaders said they were against islamistic values
- reforms decreasing bases of clerical power (esp. through creation of secular courts)
White Revolution, negative aspect collapse of traditional rural structures
- Shah sought to centralise power with international outcome = left void in rural governance and social cohesion
- new (often) state controlled administrative bodies replaced traditional networks > frequently failed to gain trust / provide same level of support as old systems
White Revolution, negative aspect concentration of wealth
wealth concentrated amongst industrial elites connected to regime, increasing social inequalities
- fueld resentment and sense of injustice among those that felt left behind by modernisation drive
White Revolution resistance figures
- clercs, bazaar merchants (industrialisations sidelined traditional bazaar economy), landowners
White Revolution Impacts
- Land reforms
- Education
- Industrial Growth
White revolution general positive impacts
- resdistributed land to about 2.5m families
- established literacy and health cooperations to benefit rural areas
- reduced autonomy of tribal groups
- advanced social and legal reforms for women (further emancipation and enfranchisement)
-> right to vote
-> limits on child marriage
-> expanded girls access to education
-> encouraged women to join workforce - income per capita grew drastically
- oil revenue increased state funding for industrial development projects
