1953 US-UK Coup Overthrew Iran's Mosaddegh Government
The 1953 coup in Iran was orchestrated by the United States and the United Kingdom in response to Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh's nationalization of the Iranian oil industry. This move threatened Western oil interests, prompting the US and UK to intervene by overthrowing Mosaddegh's government and installing a pro-Western regime.
Economist Jason Hickel later analyzed such interventions, highlighting the contradictions between liberal democratic values and capitalist imperatives that drive democracies to support foreign conflicts. The coup remains a significant example of Cold War-era foreign interference aimed at securing economic and geopolitical interests in Iran.