The inside and untold story of the 1953 CIA-backed coup in Iran that toppled the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.

Known as ‘Operation Ajax’, this covert operation would be the first overthrow of a foreign government by the agency, and serve as a template for all future CIA coups - including the following year in Guatemala. Initially viewed as a geopolitical success, the coup in Iran led to disaster 25 years later, when radical mullahs drove the corrupt Shah from power and established an anti-Western Islamic government.

Combining newsreel footage, historians, Middle East experts and former US intelligence officers, American Coup explores the repercussions from this seminal event and examines the coup’s lingering effects on the present US-Iranian relationship.

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Festival and Awards

Winner
Best Documentary, Noor Film Festival (Los Angeles) 2011

Official Selection
IDFA 2010
Denver Film Festival 2010
Noor Film Festival (Los Angeles) 2011
Daytona Beach Screening 2011