Contributor(s): | The pivotal 1953 coup in Iran, orchestrated by the CIA and MI6, toppled the democratically elected Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadegh. Renowned scholar Fawaz Gerges explains how this event set a precedent for an American foreign policy of intervention in the region, shaping the political landscape of the Middle East.  

This video is based on research from Fawaz Gerges’ new book, What Really Went Wrong?: The West and the Failure of Democracy in the Middle East, available here: https://yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300259575/what-really-went-wrong/  

Fawaz A. Gerges is professor of International Relations at LSE and the author of Making the Arab World and ISIS: A History. He has also been a senior analyst for ABC News. https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-relations/people/gerges