2. The First CIA Coup: Turmoil in Tehran (Ep 2)

The Rest Is Classified

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2024

⏱️ 30 minutes

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Summary

The first coup attempt has failed. The Shah has fled to Baghdad. The CIA have told Kermit he can leave if he's in a jam, but he chooses not to. He wants to finish the job. The streets of Tehran are chaos; protesters against the Shah are out in their thousands and things are getting violent. But in this Kermit sees an opportunity. If he stokes enough disorder will the majority of the capital turn against Mossadegh's radical supporters? What follows is a tale of dirty tricks, armed weightlifters, and, bizarrely, a series of Iranian politicians in their pyjamas... Listen as David McCloskey and Gordon Corera tell the story of the 1953 Iranian coup orchestrated by the CIA and MI6. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ www.nordvpn.com/restisclassified It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! Email: [email protected] Twitter: @triclassified Editor: Kieron Leslie Producer: Callum Hill Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I was driven to number 10 Downing Street. At precisely four o'clock, I rang the doorbell.
0:12.2	A military aide let me in. Mr. Roosevelt, come this way, please. He led me to a downstairs room,
0:17.2	a living room, I guess, that had been made into a bedroom. Churchill, whom I had not seen since
0:21.0	the White House Christmas party of 1941, was lying propped up by pillows in the middle of the bed.
0:26.0	We met at your cousin Franklin's, did we not? I thought so. Well, you have an exciting story to tell.
0:30.6	I'm anxious to hear it. So I went into my routine, giving him the dramatic highlights and considerable detail.
0:36.1	Quite often he interrupted with questions,
0:37.9	and quite often he would doze off for a few minutes. We talked for almost two hours.
0:42.0	Finally, I quoted the Shah's words about owing his country to God and some others, including me.
0:46.4	Churchill grinned and shifted himself further up on his pillows. Young man, if I had been but a few
0:50.9	years younger, I would love nothing better than to have served under your command in this great venture.
0:56.9	Well, that is CIA officer Kermit Roosevelt, briefing Winston Churchill on the CIA-M-I-6 coup of 1953.
1:07.0	Welcome to The Rest is Classified, and last time we left Kermit in a very dire situation in the
1:15.3	middle of Iran. He has worked various angles to try to depose the Iranian Prime Minister,
1:23.0	Mohammed Mossadegh, and remove him from power because he nationalized Iran's oil and took it away from
1:29.6	the Brits. And we last left him overnight on August 15th when it looked like his plan
1:34.7	to ferment chaos and then get the shot at his miss Mossadegh had failed horribly. That's right. We left
1:40.6	him in the depths of despair, probably hung over from his night where he'd
1:44.8	been expecting to triumphantly overthrow Mossadegh, but he doesn't give up. And I think that's what's
1:51.9	fascinating about Kermit Roosevelt at this point and why he ends up sitting with Churchill in
1:57.8	this amazing scene and telling a kind of beleaguered Churchill who's been ill
2:02.1	recently and is not in his best state, but he was clearly fascinated by this story of how
	...

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