Operation Ajax

Operation Ajax was the Anglo-American plan developed in 1951 to for the covert overthrow of the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq in response to his nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

The leader of the operation was Kermit Roosevelt (1916-2000), a senior CIA agent, and grandson of the former President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt.

The collapse of the Mossadegh regime led to the re-establishment of a monarchy headed by Reza Shah Pahlavi. Approved in late June, 1953, the Shah returned to Tehran on 22 August.

---