Seven decades of US regime change efforts: What have they achieved?

The United States and Israel initiated strikes across Iran on February 28, asserting that Tehran was on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons. This action marks the latest escalation in a long-standing conflict between Washington and Tehran, which began decades ago.

The ongoing confrontation has triggered fighting across the region. Iran has launched retaliatory attacks on Gulf states, while groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, supported by Iran, have also engaged in hostilities. These actions have disrupted global energy markets, leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and have stalled progress toward any peace deal.

This recent conflict is framed as the newest chapter in a complex US-Iran relationship marked by coups, covert operations, sanctions, military confrontations, and failed diplomatic efforts. Since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the US-backed Shah, Washington has consistently aimed to weaken the Iranian government.

The article traces this history back to 1953, when the CIA, in collaboration with Britain, orchestrated a coup to overthrow Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. Mosaddegh had nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, a move that threatened Western interests. The coup reinstated the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who had previously taken power in 1941. Following the 1953 coup, the US and Iran remained close allies for over two decades, with the US even supporting Iran's civilian nuclear program.