Four Days In August

Throughline

NPR

Society & Culture, History, Documentary

4.7 • 15K Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2019

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The U.S. and Iran have had a tense relationship for decades — but when did that begin? Over the next two weeks, we're exploring the history. This week, we feature our very first episode about an event from August 1953 — when the CIA helped to overthrow Iran's Prime Minister.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Romteen here.
0:01.6	And Rhund.
0:02.5	So, like many of you, we've been watching the recent tensions between the US and Iran
0:08.3	escalate.
0:09.8	And we've been thinking a lot about the origins of this incredibly complex issue.
0:14.4	So, we wanted to spend the next two weeks exploring that history.
0:18.7	This week, we'll revisit our first episode, the story of how the US overthrew Iran's
0:24.2	Democratic Prime Minister in 1953.
0:27.3	And next week, we're going to share a new episode focusing on the last 40 years of hostilities
0:32.1	between the US and Iran.
0:34.1	All right, here it is, the first in our Iran series, Four Days in August.
0:44.4	August 15, 1953.
0:47.5	Shortly before midnight in Tehran, Iran's capital city, the air was thick with anticipation.
0:53.2	Something big was about to happen.
0:55.2	The elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohamed Mosadil, was sitting at home, waiting.
1:00.8	He knew something was coming.
1:02.4	And he had no idea if he'd still be Prime Minister by morning.
1:06.0	So, with each tick, tick, tick of the clock, he knew that the future of Iran was at stake.
1:14.0	One truckload of presidential guards' soldiers were going to Mosadx house at midnight.
1:18.9	Their mission was simple.
1:20.2	Go to Mosadx house in the middle of the night.
1:22.1	Not on the door.
	...

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