10. Operation Ajax in Iran (1953)
In 1953, the CIA and MI6 orchestrated Operation Ajax to depose Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, after his nationalization of the oil industry threatened Western interests. The coup reinstated Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, leading to his autocratic rule and setting the stage for the 1979 Islamic Revolution. This intervention has had lasting repercussions on U.S.-Iran relations (britannica.com).
