Kan'ani:
Supporting dictators recurring element of US, UK policies
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kan'ani says that supporting the dictators is one of the recurring elements of the policies of the United States and the United Kingdom.
MEHR: Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kan'ani says that supporting the dictators is one of the recurring elements of the policies of the United States and the United Kingdom.
The senior Iranian diplomat made the remarks on the occasion of the 1953 coup anniversary in Iran which was plotted by the colonial powers.
"70 years ago, a national government in Iran was ousted by a coup backed by the US and UK," Kan'ani wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Supporting dictators, meddling in domestic affairs, suppressing libertarian movements, and orchestrating coup d'états are recurring elements of American and British policies," he stressed.
In August 1953, the coup set off a series of events, including riots on the streets of the capital Tehran, leading to the overthrow and arrest of Iranian Prime Minister Mosaddegh, who was popular in Iran for nationalizing the country’s oil industry and taking it back from largely British control.
It also enabled the return of the pro-Western monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, from exile in Italy and consolidated his rule for the following 26 years until the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, led by Imam Khomeini.
Mosaddegh, who was convicted of treason by a court martial after the coup, served three years in solitary confinement and eventually died under house arrest in exile in 1967.
The historic overthrow, though, is still given as a reason for the Iranians’ mistrust of Britain and the United States.
Experts say the coup was aimed at making sure the Iranian monarchy would safeguard the West’s oil interests in the country.
