MSNBC has put together a slide-show offering a brief history of Iran. They’ve managed to go back further than 1979 – impressive for a mainstream outlet, whose memories usually begin with the Islamic revolution.
But, amazingly, they’ve contrived to ignore Mohammed Mossadeq, the democratically elected prime minister of Iran who in 1953 was overthrown in a UK/CIA-backed coup, which installed the brutal and corrupt Shah in his place. The overthrow of Mossadeq is probably, together with the 1979 Islamic revolution, the seminal moment in the history of 20th century Iran, and MSNBC has just wiped it out for political convenience. Mossadeq had dared to nationalise the Iranian oil industry at the expense of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now British Petroleum), and such defiance could obviously not be tolerated by the masters of the world.
The slide-show also makes no mention of the fact that the U.S. supported Iraq in its aggression against Iran, which left up a million people dead on all sides.
The mainstream media has been caught, once again, shamelessly re-writing history in the interests of power. That MSNBC has completely obliterated the U.S.’ history of aggression towards Iran at a time when the Bush administration is trying to drum up militaristic fervour amongst the population with a possible view to another imperialistic war against that country is an utter disgrace.
A more accurate overview of modern Iranian history can be found here.
Cross-posted at The Heathlander