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ID: 116319

Analysis of radio propaganda in the 1953 Iran coup / Roberts, Mervyn

Roberts, Mervyn	Journal Article
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2012.

Summary/Abstract

In 1953, the United States assisted in a coup that removed Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq from office. Analysis of radio broadcasts during and after the coup provides a window for scrutinizing the event and understanding the motivations of all sides. The United States monitoring agency, the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), snatched these ephemeral broadcasts from the ether for posterity. This study expands the coup narrative based on these broadcasts. An analysis of the transcripts suggests that assertions that the Central Intelligence Agency's covert propaganda program resulted in the coup's success are an oversimplification. On the contrary, the effect of both Mosaddeq's and the Tudeh party's actions unwittingly legitimized the coup-plotters' propaganda in the weeks prior to the coup and contributed more to the success of the coup.

Key Words

Iran ; United States ; Mohammad Mosaddeq ; FBIS ; Radio Propaganda

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ID: 168980

Operation Countenance: The 1941 Invasion of Iran and the Clash of Propaganda Narratives / Roberts, Mervyn

Roberts, Mervyn	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

The June 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union unleashed a series of events that culminated in the Allied invasion of Iran two months later. In their propaganda, Britain and the Soviet Union publicly justified that invasion as a means of preventing Iran from falling into the German orbit. However, a review of radio broadcasts of the time shows the theme of a German menace was not widely believed in the region. Using BBC Summary of World Broadcasts transcripts from the period, this paper argues that the decision to base their propaganda on a lie also negatively affected relations in the postwar world. In that sense the decision to justify the invasion on the basis of German presence was a propaganda failure for the allies.

Key Words

Great Britain ; BBC ; Iran ; Propaganda ; 1941 ; Soviet Union ;
Summary of World Broadcasts ; Operation Countenance

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