The Global Story: Operation Ajax: The CIA’s Iran coup
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.2K Ratings
🗓️ 17 May 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
At the outset of the war in Iran, US President Donald Trump suggested that regime change was one of its goals. He later said it had been had achieved, a claim that is disputed by critics who point out that the same repressive forces in Iran still hold power. American attempts at regime change in Iran have a long history. In 1953 the CIA, assisted by British intelligence, led a deadly coup that toppled Iran’s last democratically elected leader. It’s a moment in history that poisoned US-Iranian relations, and helped launch the theocratic revolution to come. But the immediate success of ‘Operation Ajax’ would convince the CIA to carry out a wave of similar plots around the world. We get the full story from Scott Anderson, author of King of Kings: The Fall of the Shah and the Revolution That Forged Modern Iran.
The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption. For more episodes, just search 'The Global Story' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts.
Producers: Viv Jones and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Supporters of the Shah of Iran in Tehran, 1953. Credit: Getty/Bettmann
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | Hey there, I'm Asma Khalid. |
| 0:07.9 | And I'm Tristan Redmond, and we're here with a bonus episode for you from the Global Story podcast. |
| 0:13.1 | The world order is shifting. Old alliances are fraying and new ones are emerging. Some of this |
| 0:19.7 | turbulence can be traced to decisions made in the United States. |
| 0:23.4 | But the U.S. isn't just a cause of the upheaval. |
| 0:26.7 | Its politics are also a symptom of it. |
| 0:29.8 | Every day we focus on one story, looking at how America and the world shape each other. |
| 0:35.0 | So we hope you enjoy this episode. |
| 0:37.1 | And to find more of our show, just search for the global story wherever you get your BBC |
| 0:42.9 | podcasts. |
| 0:44.7 | We have really regime change. |
| 0:47.9 | You know, this is a change in the regime. |
| 0:50.7 | Donald Trump has said many times that he's achieved something like regime change in Iran. |
| 0:57.4 | Their first level leaders are dead, their second level leaders are dead, some of their third level leaders are dead. I call that regime change. |
| 1:06.1 | It's hard to make a watertight case for it, though. There was a Haminae in charge before the war. |
| 1:12.2 | There's still a Haminae in charge now. But it wouldn't be the first time the US has attempted regime change in Iran. |
| 1:22.6 | Back in 1953, the CIA led a coup to topple Iran's democratically elected prime minister. |
| 1:31.4 | A moment in history that's less well known in the United States, but definitely hasn't been |
| 1:38.3 | forgotten in Iran. It may still be shaping the thinking of the new Iranian leaders the US needs to negotiate with now. |
| 1:49.1 | From the BBC, I'm Tristan Redmond, and today on the global story, |
| 1:54.0 | the long shadow of the 1953 coup and why it may have shaped Iran and U.S. thinking on regime change for decades. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 8 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.