ABSTRACT LEAR-NICKUM, IAN COLE. Mossadegh in America: A Turning Point, October 8- November 18, 1951. (Under the direction of Dr. Nancy Mitchell). The Anglo-Iranian Oil Crisis officially began in April 1951, when the Iranian legislature nationalized Iran’s oil industry. This political action foreclosed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s claim on Iranian oil, and drew ire from Great Britain as well as international oil companies. Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, the prime minister of Iran, was the elderly statesman responsible for leading this intense political movement. Nationalization, however, caused an international imbroglio of epic proportions, and in August 1953 Mossadegh was removed from office by a CIA/MI6-assisted royalist coup d’état that reaffirmed the power of Mohammad Reza Shah and ended the oil nationalization movement in Iran. Control of Iranian oil was returned to the West, and American companies received a forty percent share. Initially, the United States was caught in the middle of this crisis, and the Truman administration sought to achieve a resolution. The best chance for a settlement came when Mossadegh – drawn to American shores by a British complaint submitted to the United Nations Security Council – visited the United States from October 8 to November 18, 1951. During this time period, the prime minister met with American officials in New York, defended Iran’s actions at the United Nations, and pleaded his case to President Truman in Washington. While brave and progressive, his unorthodox political tactics and uncompromising negotiating techniques – including threats of a Soviet-Iranian alliance if Iran did not receive American aid as well as almost daily reversals in his positions regarding Iranian concessions – would prove costly. Whereas at the beginning of his time in America the Truman administration was hopeful that a settlement could be reached, by the end of his stay the American position had shifted. Not only did the United States come to believe that Mossadegh was unworthy of American support, but by November 18, 1951 the Truman administration was beginning to align with the British, who had been clamoring for Mossadegh’s removal since his ascendance to the prime minister’s seat in April 1951. The United States would fully abandon any tangible support of Mossadegh by January 1952 and would decide that the only course of action was to strengthen the young Shah. This thesis refocuses the historiography of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Crisis, and shows that the groundwork for the overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh was set by the Truman administration starting in October-November 1951. Mossadegh’s time in America was a turning point for US policy: after experiencing the premier’s personality firsthand, realizing that his policies jeopardized international capitalism, hearing his threats of a Soviet alliance, and learning that their most valuable Cold War ally, Great Britain, refused to reenter negotiations with the polarizing prime minister, the United States decided to support the Shah and abandon Mossadegh. The Truman administration left the elderly statesman on his own to battle an international boycott of Iranian oil and a deteriorating political situation in Iran. The Americans decided that the needs of an ally and the standards of international capitalism outweighed the risk of Soviet subversion in Iran. In addition, this shift in policy, while directly moving the United States towards a position of covert intervention in Iran, would also heighten the tension in America’s early Cold War power struggle with Great Britain. Indeed, Mossadegh’s time in America would prove to be an important step in the United States achieving long standing hegemony in the Middle East at the expense of its British ally. © Copyright 2013 Ian Cole Lear-Nickum All Rights Reserved Mossadegh in America: A Turning Point, October 8-November 18, 1951 by Ian Cole Lear-Nickum A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts History Raleigh, North Carolina 2013 APPROVED BY: _______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Anne Mitchell Dr. Akram Khater Committee Chair ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. Blair Kelley Dr. David Gilmartin ii DEDICATION For my precious son James; for my incredible and beautiful wife Lindsay; for our soon-to-be- born daughter; for my Mom, an environmental historian who instilled in me a love of history; for my Dad, who leads with experience, strength, and hope; for my devoted in-laws, Alison and David; for the History Department of NC State, for believing in me and giving me this opportunity; for the people of Iran; and for the memory of Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh. iii BIOGRAPHY Ian Cole Lear-Nickum was born in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 1978 and grew up in Bethesda, MD. From birth he was immersed in the study of history – his mother, Linda Lear, is the environmental historian who wrote Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature, the definitive biography of the celebrated biologist who wrote Silent Spring and started the modern environmental movement. After attending St. Albans School in Washington and graduating cum laude in 1997, Ian matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a BA in Communications in 2001. While at Penn, he acquired a thirst for music from his experiences as a member of Off the Beat, an a capella group. After college, Ian formed a rock band, Vaeda. The group signed a recording contract in 2006, and their debut album, State of Nature, was released in stores nationwide that same year. Ian toured with Vaeda for three years, playing over 500 concerts, and during this time he married Lindsay, his college sweetheart. The band was dropped from its label in 2009, and although it recorded and released a second album, Unsafe at Any Speed, Ian decided to resign as lead singer/guitarist and pursue his other passion: history. When Lindsay, studying to be a veterinary oncologist, received a residency position at NC State’s veterinary hospital, the couple moved to Raleigh, and after taking some classes at NC State, Ian applied to the History Graduate Program. In an amazing stroke of fortune, he was granted a Teaching Assistantship. Lindsay and Ian welcomed James Beckett Lear Nickum into the world on January 2nd, 2011, and the family now lives in Stamford, Connecticut. Most recently, Ian accepted an offer to be a full-time high school history teacher at King Low Heywood Thomas, a local private school. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I acknowledge my adviser, Dr. Nancy Mitchell. Thanks to her efforts and guidance, I was able to focus and hone this monstrosity of a thesis into something more digestible. She alone knows the struggles I dealt with while trying to finalize my topic and do my research, and I will be forever grateful for her edits, her encouragement, her honesty, her patience, and her high expectations. I cannot thank her enough. Second, I acknowledge my committee members. Dr. Akram Khater allowed me to do an independent study with him during the spring semester in which my son, James, was born. He was patient and kind, yet tough and determined: thanks to his direction, I learned Iranian history as seen through the eyes of Iranian scholars. This was integral to my thesis work. Likewise, taking Dr. Blair Kelley’s summer school class on the American Civil Rights Movement gave me a historical perspective that I had previously lacked, and this allowed me to make some of the connections between American domestic and foreign policy that follow in this thesis. Her graciousness, perspective, and humor made my experience at NC State incredibly rich and enjoyable. Last, but certainly not least, Dr. David Gilmartin ignited a spark within me when I took his Modern European Imperialism class. He encouraged me to write about Mossadegh, even though the literature was already vast and seemingly impenetrable. I like to think that he saw something in me and decided to support me in my work, and I am grateful to him for this. This last point, of course, is applicable to all my committee members, and I thank them all for being there for me every step of the way. Third, I extend my appreciation to the faculty and staff in the History Department at NC State. Dr. David Zonderman is not only a wealth of historical knowledge and a tough v professor, but also he was a supportive member of my familial community in Raleigh and a mentor. He leads by example, and is someone who I aspire to emulate. Being a teaching assistant for Dr. Matthew Booker was an absolute joy. He was the best boss I will probably ever have. Tough but kind, focused but fun, I will continue to plagiarize from Dr. Booker throughout my career as a teacher. He has a humility about him that is endearing and gracious, and he changed my life for the better. Dr. Brent Sirota is a rock star amongst professors, and might have done more for me by giving me a bad grade on my historiography midterm than any teacher or professor ever has. He knew that I was not reaching my potential, and his comments inspired me. I was incredibly lucky to have him as a professor, and he introduced me to some of the most incredible thinkers and writers in human history. I hope NC State appreciates what they have in him. Lastly, a special “thank you” to Norene Miller, the hardest working person in the History Department. She helped me almost every single day, and always wanted to see new pictures of James. I would not be in a position to graduate had it not been for her – she is one of the kindest women I have ever known.