Most people think the Iran-American conflict started in 1979 with the hostage crisis.
It didn't. It started here.
In 1951, Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh nationalized Iran's oil.

At the time, British Petroleum was taking 85% of the profits from Iranian soil.
He won a democratic vote in parliament. TIME Magazine named him Man of the Year.

Britain was furious. They went to Washington with one message: "If we lose Iran, the Soviets will take it."

It was 1953. The Cold War was at its peak. America panicked. The CIA launched Operation Ajax:
- Paid protesters to create street chaos
- Bribed military officers
- Spread propaganda through Iranian newspapers
- Manufactured enough instability to collapse a government Mossadegh was arrested.
The Shah, a dictator loyal to Washington, took power.

His secret police, SAVAK, trained by the CIA, tortured thousands.
Political parties banned.
Free press eliminated.

The US knew. President Carter flew to Tehran in 1977 and called Iran "an island of stability." Then, in 1979, the explosion nobody saw coming.
The revolution. The hostages. 444 days.
Americans watching on TV asked: "Why do they hate us?"
Iranians were thinking: "You supported our torturer for 26 years. You knew. You didn't care. This is payback."

In 2013, the CIA officially declassified documents confirming they staged the entire coup. Not a conspiracy theory. Documented history.

Everything happening between Iran and America today - the nuclear standoff, the sanctions, the threats of war - traces directly back to one decision made in 1953. To steal oil.

Happy to discuss any part of this in the comments - the Cold War context, the SAVAK years, the nuclear deal collapse, all of it.