Diplomatic Files, Embassy Telegrams, U.S. Estimates
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The Mossadegh Project [Updated November 30, 2023] |
This archive collects declassified State Department documents on Iran, Premier Mossadegh, the Shah, oil negotiations and the 1953 coup. The transcribed documents are supplemented with in-depth analysis, footnotes, annotations and other background information, with regular updates to follow.
• CIA Documents on Iran, Mossadegh, 1953 Coup
• National Security Council (NSC) | IRAN
• U.S. Congress on Iran | Archive (1951-1981)
• British Foreign Office documents on Iran
• Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC/BP) | Archive
May 2, 1951
Ambassador Henry Grady Meets New Premier Mossadegh
May 3, 1951
Summary of Telegrams: IRAN
May 4, 1951
Estimate of the Political Strength of the Mosadeq Government
May 6, 1951
Mossadegh’s Strength “Derives From the Spirit Of Nationalism”
May 7, 1951
Shah “Quite Unhappy” Re: Mossadegh Victory, Nationalization
Henry Grady on Mossadegh’s Cabinet, Oil Committee Prospects
May 24, 1951
Iranian Situation (Henry S. Villard to Paul Nitze)
June 25, 1951
Arrival in New York of Mohamad Hosein and Khosro Qashqai
June 29, 1951
Gerald F. P. Dooher on the Qashqai Brothers Visit
July 5, 1951
Max Thornburg Meets With Dean Acheson, William Rountree
Max Thornburg: Notes For Discussion With Dean Acheson
July 11, 1951
Dean Acheson to Grady Reacting To Mossadegh Letter
July 29, 1951
Amb. Henry Grady Reports on Mossadegh Meeting
Amb. Walter Gifford’s Telegram on Britain and Iran
August 24, 1951
Henry Grady’s Resignation Letter, Cover Note to Pres. Truman
September 26, 1951
Iranian Situation (Henry S. Villard to Paul Nitze)
October 1, 1951
Amb. Walter Gifford on Iran vs Britain at Security Council
October 2, 1951
Ernest Gross Advises British To Revise Approach on Iran
October 3, 1951
George W. Perkins: British Attitude on Iran Concerns Us
October 8, 1951
George McGhee’s First Meeting With Dr. Mossadegh
October 9, 1951
George McGhee’s Solo Meeting With Premier Mossadegh
October 10, 1951
U.S. Oil Kings Air Iran Concerns With State Dept.
October 11, 1951
Meeting With Dr. Mossadegh at New York Hospital
October 23, 1951
Truman, Acheson and Mossadegh Talk at Blair House
October 24, 1951
Acheson, Nitze, McGhee and Mossadegh at Walter Reed
October 28, 1951
Mossadegh, George McGhee Talk Oil at the Shoreham Hotel
November 14, 1951
6 US, British Diplomats Compare Views on Iran
1952
April 1, 1952
Dean Acheson’s Telegram To French Embassy on Ghavam
July 28, 1952
Loy Henderson’s 2½ Hour Discussion With Dr. Mossadegh
August 12, 1952
William E. Warne: My Visit With Ayatollah Kashani
October 5, 1952
Sec. of State Dean Acheson’s Letter to Premier Mossadegh
October 8, 1952
The Communist Danger in Persia
Comments on the British Paper entitled “The Communist Danger in Persia”
Discussion of British Paper on “The Communist Danger in Persia”
November 26, 1952
Proposal to Organize a Coup d’état in Iran
December 8, 1952
British Proposal to Organize a Coup d’état in Iran
1953
January 1953
Communism In the Free World (Iran: pp. 235-258)
January 26, 1953
Sec. of State Dulles Advises British on AIOC Legalities
January 28, 1953
Henderson and Mossadegh’s First Post-Inauguration Meeting
February 19, 1953
The Iranian Petroleum Situation
February 25, 1953
Loy Henderson Panics Over the Shah’s Pending Departure
February 26, 1953
Loy Henderson Wants To “Take Some Action” For Shah
February 27, 1953
Loy Henderson Warns of Serious Consequences In Iran
John Foster Dulles: We Are Currently Assessing Crisis
February 28, 1953
Loy Henderson Accepts Risks of Interference Charge
Sec. Dulles Approves Of Henderson’s “Energetic Measures”
March 1953
Measures which the United States Government Might Take in Support of a Successor Government to Mosadeq
March 20, 1953
First Progress Report on Paragraph 5–a of NSC 136/1, “U.S.Policy Regarding the Present Situation in Iran”
May 8, 1953
Loy Henderson on the Opposition’s Chances Against Mossadegh
May 20, 1953
William E. Warne’s Discussion With Ali Akbar Akhavi
June 25, 1953
Henderson: “No Hope” For Oil Settlement With Mossadegh
Prior to Coup, U.S. Seeks Understanding With British on Oil
July 1, 1953
Popularity and Prestige of Prime Minister Mohammed Mosadeq
August 16, 1953
Tudeh Newspaper “Shojat” Predicts Iran Coup Plot
After Failed Iran Coup, U.S. Mulls Wait & See Approach
August 18, 1953
Loy Henderson Interrogates Mossadegh After 1953 CIA Coup Attempt
August 21, 1953
Amb. Loy Henderson Scorns Iranian Conspiracy Theorists
September 18, 1953
Army Morale: Loy Henderson Counsels Iran’s Shah After Coup
September 23, 1953
Dulles to Henderson on Strategy For Marketing Iranian Oil
September 29, 1953
U.S. Considers 2-Year World Bank Takeover of Iranian Oil
October 29, 1953
Amb. Henderson and Hoover’s Dinner With Zahedi, Entezam
November 2, 1953
Abdollah Entezam Outlines Iran’s Position on Oil
November 5, 1953
Winthrop W. Aldrich on Meeting With British Re: Iran Oil
December 8, 1953
State Dept. Legal Adviser Herman Phleger on Iran Oil Talks
1954
January 18, 1954
Amb. Loy Henderson Ponders Interfering in Iran Elections
February 16, 1954
Livingston T. Merchant to Sec. Dulles on Iranian Oil, AIOC
May 15, 1954
John D. Jernegan Memo to Robert Murphy on Oil Consortium
May 17, 1954
Loy Henderson’s Telegram on Iran Oil Consortium Details
June 16, 1954
Status Report on Iran Oil Negotiations (Donald D. Kennedy)
August 3, 1954
Sec. Dulles’ Message to Pres. Eisenhower Re: Iran Oil Deal
August 5, 1954
Sec. Dulles and Anthony Eden’s Messages on Iran Oil Deal
British Aide-Mémoire on Oil Compensation Settlement
Text of Joint British-Iranian Statement Re: Compensation
Text of Joint British-Iranian Statement Re: Sterling Payments
October 28, 1954
U.S. Says Oil Deal Is A “Significant Victory” For Iran
December 21, 1954
Shah of Iran “Greatly” Encouraged By U.S. Help
1955
August 15, 1955
Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights Between the United States of America and Iran
1956
May 1, 1956
Standard Oil Co.’s Howard Page to William Rountree: 50/50 Oil Deals Bad for Middle Eastern Countries
1960’s
October 5, 1963
Agitational Activities of Anti-Shah Iranian Students in the United States
June 9, 1964
Sec. of State Dean Rusk: Shah’s U.S. Visit Successful | June 9, 1964
June 16, 1964
Sec. of State Dean Rusk Summarizes Shah’s U.S. Visit, UCLA Protests | June 16, 1964
July 27, 1966
The Shah’s Meeting With Kermit Roosevelt, Jr.
May 30, 1972
Pres. Nixon, Henry Kissinger and the Shah’s Meeting in Iran
June 12, 1972
Iran: Internal Dissidence—A Note of Warning
September 9, 1972
Journalist Argues that Unchecked SAVAK Power Constitutes Long Term Danger to Iranian Regime (Parviz Raein)
December 6, 1972
Iranian Oil Negotiations
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Iran, 1951–1954, Volume X (1989)
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954, Iran, 1951–1954, Second Edition (2018)
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Near East Region; Iran; Iraq, Volume XII (1991)
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXII, Iran (1999)
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–4, Documents on Iran and Iraq, 1969–1972 (2006)
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XI, Part 1, Iran: Hostage Crisis, November 1979–September 1980 (2020)
October 15, 1951
Right of U.N. To Consider Anglo-Iranian Dispute
December 23, 1951
Point Four Officials Die In Plane Crash Near Tehran
January 29, 1954
American Policy in the Middle East During 1953 | Iran
August 5, 1954
Statement by Amb. Loy Henderson on Iran Oil Deal
John Foster Dulles Heralds “A New Era For Iran”
Sec. Dulles to Premier Zahedi and Abdollah Entezam
August 9, 1954
Foreign Minister Abdollah Entezam’s Reply to Sec. Dulles
August 16, 1954
Joint Statement by Howard Page, Ali Amini on Iran Oil Deal
October 28, 1954
Iranian Oil Agreement
November 22, 1954
FOA Announces Program of Aid to Iran
December 7, 1954
Arrangements for Participation in Iranian Oil Consortium
July 27, 1980
Deposed Shah Dies in Cairo
October 5, 1952
Sec. of State Dean Acheson’s Letter to Premier Mossadegh
November 13, 1979
Demonstration of Iranian Students in Manila
November 14, 1979
Demonstration of Iranian Students in Manila
November 20, 1979
Iranian Student Activities in Manila
Appeal To Student Groups: Hostages
November 26, 1979
Security During Iran Crisis
Related links:
Iran Severs Diplomatic Relations With Britain (October 1952 Ultimatum)
Pres. Eisenhower and the Shah Trade Compliments After Iran Oil Deal | Aug. 5, 1954
Some Documents on the Nationalization of the Oil Industry in Iran (Iranian Embassy, 1951)
MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”
