Which event involved a US-UK backed regime change that removed Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and increased the power of the Shah in 1953?

• A. Islamic Revolution in Iran
• B. Persian Gulf War (1991)
• C. Iranian coup (1953)
• D. Iraqi coup attempt of 1958

Answer: (C)

The event being described is a Cold War–era coup in Iran where Western powers backed removing Mosaddegh and restored authority to the Shah, increasing his power. Mosaddegh had moved to nationalize Iranian oil, challenging Western control over a vital resource. Britain, and later the United States, feared loss of influence and possible alignment with the Soviet Union, so covert operation support helped topple Mosaddegh in 1953 and reinstall Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi with expanded authority. This is the Iranian coup of 1953 (often called Operation Ajax). Its impact was to cement a stronger, Western-aligned autocratic regime in Iran for years to come. The other events—Islamic Revolution in 1979, Persian Gulf War in 1991, and the 1958 Iraqi coup attempt—occurred in different contexts and do not match this description.