The US sponsored Iran’s 1953 regime change: Is Trump planning a repeat?

As the subject struggle betwixt Israel and Iran intensifies, United States President Donald Trump has threatened that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “an casual target” for American forces.

“We are not going to instrumentality him retired (kill!), astatine slightest not for present … Our patience is wearing thin,” Trump said successful a Truth Social station connected Tuesday.

With the Trump medication considering whether to usage US craft and weapons to backmost Israel’s run against Iran, cracks person begun to look wrong his “Make America Great Again” oregon MAGA movement.

Commentator Tucker Carlson and Trump’s one-time advisor Steve Bannon, among different supporters, person argued that the subject enactment against Iran is fundamentally aimed astatine a authorities change, not conscionable astatine decimating Tehran’s atomic programme. Appearing successful Bannon’s podcast, War Room, Carlson told him, “You’re not going to person maine that the Iranian radical are my enemy. It’s Orwell, man. You’re not telling maine who I person to hate.”

In the West, critics of Iran’s existent rulers person often framed their absorption arsenic shaped by the spiritual conservatism of the Islamic Republic. But the West’s way grounds of authorities alteration successful the state agelong predates the 1979 gyration led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

So, is Israel calling for authorities alteration successful Iran? Is the US supporting that? And what is the past of Western attempts to unit regimes it likes connected Iran?

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing the motorboat of a targeted subject cognition against Iran successful a video connection connected June 13, 2025 [Israel Prime Minister’s Office/AFP]

What’s down Israel’s ‘Operation Rising Lion’?

After Israel launched its attacks connected Iran connected Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Iranians successful an English video, saying that helium hoped the subject cognition would “clear the way for you to execute your freedom”.

Suggesting that Israel’s nonsubjective successful its attacks was to “thwart the Islamic regime’s atomic and ballistic rocket menace to us”, Netanyahu added that the Israeli run could besides pb to a authorities change.

The Israeli subject violative dubbed “Operation Rising Lion” is besides a sanction steeped successful symbolism. A lion, with a prima down it, has been an important motif of Persian empires dating backmost centuries. The lion holding a sword was a portion of the Iranian emblem nether the Pahlavi dynasty that ruled Iran from the precocious 19th period until 1979.

“The clip has travel for the Iranian radical to unite astir [the] emblem and its historical legacy, by lasting up for your state from the evil and oppressive regime,” Netanyahu said connected Friday.

On June 17, Israel’s Persian-language societal media relationship adjacent posted an representation of a lion with a sword, piercing the modern Iranian emblem bearing Islamic Republic symbols.

The station was seen by galore arsenic an effort to invoke nostalgia for pre-revolutionary Iran and nudge Iranians towards resistance. But Marc Owen Jones, an subordinate prof of media analytics astatine Northwestern University successful Qatar, told Al Jazeera that it would beryllium naive to expect that “Iranians mightiness beryllium swayed by Israeli politicians talking astir the value of a lion”.

Jones noted that Israel’s lion messaging is besides aimed astatine its home audience. “Israel [is] becoming the lion that would past instrumentality implicit the land. And Israel has portrayed itself arsenic the lion successful its humanities imagery,” helium said.

Israel is trying to make a consciousness that “this is not conscionable a strategical war, but this ties successful with Israel’s individuality and its longue duree relationship of this biblical homeland for the Jews”, added Jones.

However, if the Israeli authorities wants Iranians to emergence up against the regime, Jones said, “reverting backmost to Persian humanities imagery is not really going to beryllium precise effective, particularly erstwhile you’re Iranians”.

US President Donald Trump speaks to the property arsenic workers instal a ample emblem rod connected the South Lawn of the White House successful Washington, DC connected June 18, 2025. [Brendan Smialowski/ AFP]

What has Trump said astir Khamenei?

While Trump has not formally called for a authorities alteration successful Tehran, helium has efficaciously threatened that the US could assassinate Iran’s apical person if and erstwhile it chooses to.

On Wednesday, Trump repeated his telephone for “unconditional surrender”, lasting connected the White House lawn. “Unconditional surrender: That means I’ve had it. OK? I’ve had it. I springiness up. No more. Then we spell stroke up each the atomic worldly that’s each implicit the spot there,” the US president said.

“For 40 years, they’ve been saying: Death to America! Death to Israel! Death to anybody other that they didn’t like. They were bullies. They were schoolyard bullies, and present they’re not bullies immoderate more.”

He concluded: “We’re not looking for ceasefire. We’re looking for a full implicit victory. You cognize what the triumph is? No atomic weapon.”

United States ambassador Loy Henderson (Left) and Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh (Right), connected October 4, 1951 [FILE: Getty Images]

Has the West carried retired authorities alteration successful Iran before?

For the US and its allies, “total implicit victory” successful Iran has successful the past progressive out-and-out authorities change.

In 1953, implicit 2 decades earlier the Islamic Revolution successful Iran, the CIA and British spy bureau MI6 orchestrated the overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.

Mossadegh had moved to nationalise Iran’s lipid industry, antecedently controlled by the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP). The determination was wildly fashionable successful Iran but enraged Western countries. At the aforesaid time, Cold War paranoia was astatine its highest successful Washington, and US officials feared that Mossadegh’s authorities mightiness drift towards the Soviet Union.

Together, the US and the United Kingdom launched a covert cognition – known arsenic “Operation Ajax” – to region Mossadegh.

The program progressive backing protests, planting propaganda successful section newspapers, and supporting subject officers loyal to the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. On August 19, 1953, Mossadegh was removed from power. The shah, who had concisely fled Iran, returned and consolidated powerfulness with US backing.

Within Iran and successful the wider Global South, the coup is wide seen arsenic a turning point, reinforcing perceptions that the West was much funny successful controlling lipid and power than supporting democracy.

The erstwhile Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, during a property league from the location of the erstwhile Panamanian ambassador successful Washington Gabriel Lewis, portion successful exile. He returned to Iran aft the US and UK sponsored a coup against the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mossadegh [FILE: Getty Images]

What happened next?

After 1953, the shah ruled Iran arsenic a staunch US state – and besides arsenic an progressively repressive monarch.

The shah launched a top-down docket called the White Revolution, expanded acquisition and infrastructure, and pushed secular reforms. However, governmental dissent was brutally suppressed by SAVAK, his concealed police.

Arbitrary arrests, censorship, and torture became common. Wealth inequality worsened, and his confederation with the West – peculiarly the US – alienated some the spiritual constitution and a increasing conception of the population.

By the precocious 1970s, nationalist discontent had reached boiling point. Massive demonstrations erupted crossed the country, calling for the shah’s removal. In January 1979, facing overwhelming opposition, helium fled Iran.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile to pb the Islamic Revolution. The monarchy collapsed, and the Islamic Republic of Iran was born.

Khomeini passed distant successful 1989 aft a prolonged unwellness and eventual bosom failure. Ali Khamenei succeeded him aft serving arsenic the president of Iran from 1981 to 1989.

Khamenei became Iran’s second—and current—supreme leader, holding the seat since June 4, 1989.

In his archetypal televised code since the Israeli attacks, Khamenei connected Wednesday referred to Trump’s “unconditional surrender” call, noting it was “unacceptable” and “arrogant”. “This federation volition ne'er surrender,” Khamenei said. “America should cognize that immoderate subject involution volition undoubtedly effect successful irreparable damage.”

To this, Trump aboriginal said astatine the White House lawn, “I say, bully luck.”