Operation Ajax

The secret plot toppled Iranian power

4.1 (15)

84 mins

Discover the secret operation that changed the course of modern Iran. Explore how foreign intelligence and political pressure converged to remove PM Mossadegh from power. As the story unfolds, the hidden motives and lasting consequences of the 1953 Iranian coup d'état begin to emerge.

Ep 1:

Oil, Empire, and the Making of a Crisis

An epic journey begins with Persia's oil riches, a British empire's greed, and a young Shah consolidating power after surviving an assassin's bullets.

Ep 2:

The People's Champion Takes On an Empire

Mohammad Mossadegh rises as Iran's champion of democracy, nationalizing the country's oil and igniting a furious confrontation with the British Empire.

Ep 3:

Siege Economy, Shifting Superpowers

As Britain's embargo strangles Iran's economy, political chaos deepens at home while Washington's stance shifts dramatically from Truman's caution to Eisenhower's Cold War zeal.

Ep 4:

Building the Coup, Losing the First Round

Inside the CIA and MI6's covert machinery to topple Mossadegh—until the first coup attempt collapses and the Shah flees in panic.

Ep 5:

Three Days That Toppled a Democracy

A rogue CIA officer refuses to give up, orchestrating chaos in Tehran's streets that reshapes Iran's government—and unleashes a brutal new era of repression.

Ep 6:

The Shah's Reforms and the Rise of Khomeini

The Shah's ambitious White Revolution transforms Iran, even as a fiery cleric named Khomeini rallies discontent that erupts into nationwide uprising.

Ep 7:

Theocracy Rising, History on Trial

Khomeini crushes his former allies and steers Iran into war, while historians clash over whether 1953 truly seeded the 1979 revolution.

Ep 8:

Iran's Unfinished Reckoning

Decades after the coup, Iran's theocracy faces economic collapse and a defiant new generation demanding freedom in the streets.

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