This clandestine history of Operation Ajax to overthrow the Prime Minister of Iran was written for the US Central Intelligence Agency in March 1954 by Dr. Donald N. Wilber. It gives a unique insight into the extent to which the CIA and its British ally went in pursuit of their aim to remove Iran's elected head of government in 1952-53. It also includes many interesting parallels with contemporary developments in the Middle East. Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq was Prime Minister of Iran for just over two years, from April 1951 to August 1953, when he was removed from power in a complex plot prepared by the British and US intelligence agencies. Shortly after coming to office, Mossadeq enforced the Oil Nationalisation Act, which involved the expropriation of Anglo Iranian Oil Company's assets. In response, the British foreign secretary, Herbert Morrison, announced that the Mossadeq government would not be allowed to export any oil produced in the formerly British-controlled refinery at Abadan. In October 1952, Mossadeq declared Britain 'an enemy', and cut all diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. In November and December of that year, British intelligence officials suggested to American intelligence that he should be ousted. Near the end of April 1953, Donald N. Wilber, covert consultant to Near East and Africa Division of the CIA, was selected by the Division to go to Nicosia, and in close collaboration with the SIS (the British Secret Intelligence Service), draw up a plan for the overthrow of Mossadeq...

This Ninth Edition of the standard work on Iran includes up-to-date statistics and current information on the country. It begins with an account of the history, arts, languages, and religions of Iran from 4000 B.C. to the present.

Originally published in 1982.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This Ninth Edition of the standard work on Iran includes up-to-date statistics and current information on the country. It begins with an account of the history, arts, languages, and religions of Iran from 4000 B.C. to the present. Originally published in 1982. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.