Seventy years ago this week, the U.S. and Britain orchestrated a coup to oust the democratically elected president of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had nationalized Iran's enormous oil reserves. In his place, these imperialists re-installed the Shah (King) of Iran, a murderous monarch and Western puppet.

This watershed event is being discussed and analyzed inside and outside Iran from various perspectives, as imperialist powers continue to maneuver to control Iran.

Given the importance of this history and its ongoing impacts down to today, we encourage readers to mark this anniversary by watching the powerful documentary Coup 53: Old Secrets Cast Long Shadows, and checking out the revcom.us article 1953 CIA Coup in Iran: Torture and Repression – Made in the U.S.A.

Letter from Revolution Books Berkeley staff to revcom.us: Reposted here for relevance to friends of Iran's political prisoners in the context of the crossroads faced by the people in Iran.