The Role of Propaganda in the 19 August 1953 Coup based on US Diplomatic Documents

Using a "process oriented model of propaganda analysis," this paper seeks to retrieve dominant American propaganda messages and media techniques and networks used in the 1953 coup in Iran. An investigation of the official correspondence of the main actors of the coup based on US diplomatic documents shows that American officials considered the anti-imperialist nature of Iran's public opinion especially in the case of the independence-seeking political Islam led by Ayatollah Kashani as the main obstacle to their policies in the region. In other words, the American actors considered "radical nationalism" and "militant Islamism" as two ideological barriers to the interests of the West and the United States in Iran. The present research seeks to study the why and how of the American psychological warfare to influence public opinion in Iran as a vital step in the pursuit of the coup. Mossadegh's failure to discredit the propaganda campaign led to the successful advent of American propaganda. Accordingly, not only did the United States create a coup against Mossadegh, but with the weakening of Ayatollah Kashani, it created a coup against his attempts to elevate the national oil movement to a more comprehensive independence-seeking Islamic movement.