Mohammad Mosaddegh

Mohammad Mosaddegh was elected to Iran's parliament in 1923 and became prime minister in 1951, backed by the 16th Majlis. His government introduced land reforms, social security, and higher taxes on rent, but the collision came over oil: he nationalised an industry the British had built and controlled since 1913 through what became BP, triggering the Abadan Crisis. In 1953, intelligence agencies from the UK and US, led by Kermit Roosevelt Jr., orchestrated his overthrow - a coup involving paid protesters and bribed officials. Mosaddegh was tried for treason, imprisoned for three years, then held under house arrest until his death in 1967. He was buried at home to avoid public unrest, his National Front crushed in a manipulated 1954 election while the Shah consolidated power and signed a deal splitting Iranian oil between Iran and Western companies until 1979.