<p>In 1953 the CIA secretly organized a coup to overthrow the democratically elected leader of Iran. This was the CIA&#39;s first regime change operation — code-named &#39;Operation Ajax&#39; — becoming the playbook for later CIA operations. Its consequences are still reverberating around the world.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode we take a deep dive into how Operation Ajax was planned and executed, it&#39;s motivations, the political context locally and globally, what happened in Iran after 1953, its impact on US-Iran relations up to today, and more. </p><p><br></p><p>We&#39;ve added many archival audio clips, including first-hand accounts on both sides, sound effects, music, and more. </p><p><br></p><p>This is the first episode in our new series on The Socialist Program. In each episode we will unpack a different CIA/Pentagon operation, each which was given its own code-name as Operation Ajax was. </p><p><br></p><p>Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get access to the next episodes in this series, more exclusive content, and help keep this show on the air.</p><p><br></p><p>Credits:</p><p>Brian Becker - writer, narrator</p><p>Layan Fuleihan - writer, narrator</p><p>John Prysner - audio engineer, producer</p><p>Emily Brease - archival producer</p>