Mossadegh had sought to
audit the documents of the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), a British corporation (now part of
BP) and to limit the company's control over Iranian
oil reserves. Upon the refusal of the AIOC to co-operate with the Iranian government, the parliament (
Majlis) voted to
nationalize Iran's oil industry and to expel foreign corporate representatives from the country.
[10][11][12] After this vote, Britain instigated a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil to pressure Iran economically.
[13] Initially, Britain mobilized its military to seize control of the British-built
Abadan oil refinery, then the world's largest, but Prime Minister
Clement Attlee opted instead to tighten the economic boycott
[14] while using Iranian agents to undermine Mosaddegh's government.
[15] Winston Churchill and the
Eisenhower administration decided to overthrow Iran's government, though the predecessor
Truman administration had opposed a coup, fearing the precedent that
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) involvement would set.
[16] Classified documents show that British intelligence officials played a pivotal role in initiating and planning the coup, and that the AIOC contributed $25,000 towards the expense of bribing officials.
[17] In August 2013, 60 years afterward, the American CIA admitted that it was in charge of both the planning and the execution of the coup, including the bribing of Iranian politicians, security and army high-ranking officials, as well as pro-coup propaganda.
[18][19] The CIA is quoted acknowledging the coup was carried out "under CIA direction" and "as an act of U.S. foreign policy, conceived and approved at the highest levels of government".