Studio 53

September 12, 1953 — U.S. Editorial


The Mossadegh Project | May 24, 2021                    


Highlights of the Mossadeq Trial | CIA Memo (Nov. 1953)

A harsh, ignorant editorial on the military court trial and potential death sentence of the former Iranian Prime Minister, deposed in a U.S.-backed coup in August.




No Time For Fainting

It is not hard to sympathize with the new wielders of power in Iran as they grapple with the problem of what to do with Dr. Mossadegh. Wherever he goes, they can be sure he won’t go peaceably.

The direct solution of their problem would be to rush him through a drumhead court and execute him without further delay. But that would convert him into a martyr.

The indirect solution would be to give him a fair trial on a charge of inciting a rebellion. Since he did incite a rebellion, he could be found guilty, then either executed or imprisoned.

But that would give him a chance to faint in the courtroom and stir up sympathy. Whatever other claims he may make to fame, the doctor is the 20th century champion of the faint from a standing start.

If the Iranians newly in power think about it long enough, they may hit upon the idea of lending Dr. Mossadegh to the United States as one end of the grant-in-aid deal which shortly is going to enrich them by a couple hundred million dollars. He would be absolutely harmless here, a sought-after member of the international set in New York City and Iran would never hear of him again.


Newspapers that published this editorial included:

The Evening Review (East Liverpool, Ohio) — September 12, 1953
The Salisbury Times (Salisbury, Maryland) — September 16, 1953
The Salem News (Salem, Ohio) — September 19, 1953

[All published by The Brush-Moore Newspapers, Inc.]



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Related links:

A Proper Blow | December 30, 1953 editorial

No Pity for Mossadegh | The Lethbridge Herald, September 24, 1953

Trial Of Mossadegh Brings Riots; 1 Dead | November 12, 1953 (UP)



MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”

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