Published by american free press, cia in iran reveals in shocking detail a oncetopsecret report by a cia field agent working in iran. Five books on the legacy of the 1953 coup in iran world news the. The death of retired fbi veteran and cia contractor robert a. In the spring of 1963, john vance, a member of the cia inspector generals staff, learned about. Kinzers book, published in 2003, is an excellent account of the cia coup. The cias experiments with lsd persisted until 1963 before coming to a fairly anticlimactic end. Former cia agent talks disguise, new book at frederick. Written with a new preface that discusses the central intelligence agency cia in the postcold war era the gulf war, further revelations on u. Levinson on irans soil cries out for a congressional investigation. The world factbook provides information on the history, people and society, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Gasiorowski took issue with my 2010 book iran and the cia.
Excia deputy director warns iran will kill american. As one of the principal members of the united states intelligence community ic. So while roosevelts book might have passed muster with the cia, it did not meet with. Mendez was decorated, and is now widely known, for his onthescene management of the. Unfortunately, as it is preoccupied with the irancontra affair, the. Two alleged american spies were traded on signing of the nuclear pact with iran. Iran plans to execute 17 accused of being ciatrained. The late investigative journalist alexander cockburn contended that seal first came into contact with the cia in the 60s as.
The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden from t. American missing in iran since 2007 was working for the cia. Asgari, a top commander of irans shadowy revolutionary guards force in lebanon, remains in the united states, probably living under a cia agent. The retired agent, robert levinson, was said to be the longestheld american hostage in history. Indeed, the coup was a turning point in iranian and american history. Family of american hostage in iran finds new hope for.
However, with limited staff and resources, we simply cannot respond to all who write to us. The cias broken promises on declassification follow the link above for information on the archives lawsuit against the cia to force the declassification of key documents on the agencys role in the european elections of 1948 and the 1953 coup in iran, and to read what five former cia directors and others have said about the agencys declassification policies. Missing american in iran was working for cia associated. The trump administration wants regime change in iran.
In southwestern iran, roughly 650 km 400 mi south of the capital city of tehran, and some 70 km 40 mi northeast of shiraz, a cultivated plain gives way to the zagros mountains. Irans murder of an american, cia contractor bob levinson. Cias former deputy director michael morell has warned that iran will murder american civilians after airstrike in iraq that killed a top iranian general. Antonio joseph mendez november 15, 1940 january 19, 2019 was an american technical operations officer for the central intelligence agency cia, who specialized in support of clandestine and covert cia operations. Published by american free press the cia in iran reveals in shocking detail a oncetopsecret report by a cia field agent working in iran. American captured in iran was cia agent robert levinson, who went missing in 2007 in iran, was on mission for rogue cia analyst reveals new report against us. Baer speaks 8 languages, won the cia career intelligence medal and is a frequent commentator and author about issues. Few americans today have any idea why iran and america seem forever to be. From its founding in 1947 until 2005, the cia was run by the director of central intelligence dci. Robert booker baer born july 11, 1952 is an american author and a former cia case officer who was primarily assigned to the middle east. Iran sentences a cia spy to death for passing details of. Edward jay epstein, the wall street journallegacy of ashes should be mustreading for every presidential candidateand every american who wants to.
We read every letter or email we receive, and we will convey your comments to cia officials outside opa as appropriate. Central intelligence agency cia intervention in the internal affairs of the islamic republic of iran, from the 1953 mosaddeq coup to present. The report, which reads like a detective novel, shows how u. At the transition between flat land and rugged mountain, at the base of kuhirahmat, or mountain of mercy, lies persepolis. Instead of crippling irans nuclear program, the book alleges, operation merlin may have accelerated it by providing useful information. Tony mendez, the former cia officer who rescued six american diplomats from revolutionary iran in 1980, died saturday. Iranian suspicion of the cia stretches back to 1953, when the cia and the british executed the coup that overthrew its elected prime minister and cemented the rule of the americanbacked shah. Levinsons years in iranian captivity ranks as the longest that any american has been held hostage in history and has rightly been called by the associated press one of the most serious cia scandals in modern times.
So in early 1951, amid great popular acclaim, mossadegh nationalized irans oil industry. It is strong in locating the cia in its democratic contextthe forbidding of cia activities at home, for instance, reflected the fear of a police state, but it also made for ragged relations between the cia and the fbi. National security archive electronic briefing book no. Enough cold, hard cash to make the phenomenon of raining. The blank spots on iran involve the cia and mi6backed plot to. Its one of the first in a long line of suspected or acknowledged cia interventions in the governments of foreign countries, and it was indeed a tremendous success from the agencys point of view.
A task force of cia, fbi and state department officials studied. On anniversary of mossadeghs downfall, neither iranian, american. Mendez slipped into iran on january 25, 1980, after receiving a cable from the cia director indicating president carters personal approval that read. Cia confirms role in 1953 iran coup august 19, 20 in the news. The author meticulously researched it for years, and it is a welcome correction to more sensationalist books written in recent years about the depth of us involvement in the 1953 downfall of prime minister mossadegh.
Washington an american who vanished nearly seven years ago in iran was working for the cia on an unapproved intelligencegathering mission that, when it came to light inside the government. Cia confirms role in 1953 iran coup the national security archive. The book mostly focuses on the work tony and jonna mendez did with other cia agents and assets, but the book opens with a scene in june 2016 when an american diplomat was beaten nearly to death in. By contrast, in iran and the cia 2010, darioush bayandor argues that 19 august had essentially an indigenous character and resulted from irans internal dynamics.
The director of central intelligence dci was the head of the american central intelligence agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the united states and the united states national security council, as well as the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various u. The cia collaborated with the last shah, mohammad reza pahlavi, to overthrow prime minister mohammed mossadeq and install general fazlollah zahedi. Potential terrorist sleeper cell operations in the united states are a credible threat in the wake of iranian missile strikes, former cia officer bryan dean wright said wednesday. According to stephen kinzer, author of the book all the shahs men. The office of public affairs opa is the single point of contact for all inquiries about the central intelligence agency cia. Tony mendez, the argo spy who rescued americans in iran. Washington an american who vanished nearly seven years ago in iran was working for the cia on an unapproved intelligencegathering mission that. I have recruited my own assets, a bunch of books on the cia itself. The american spy agency lured recruits by promising residency and jobs in the u. Ervand abrahamian is the author of several books, including tortured confessions, khomeinism, iran between two revolutions, and a history of modern iran.
American missing nearly 7 years in iran was on an unapproved cia mission. The central intelligence agency cia is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the united states, tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence humint. The reallife seal seems to have joined up with the cia much earlier. The family of american hostage bob levinson found new hope of bringing the former fbi agent home. This week we look back at four days in august 1953, when the cia orchestrated a. Mendez was decorated, and is now widely known, for his onthescene management of the canadian caper during the iran hostage. The american warship uss vincennes shoots down an iran air flight in the gulf on 3 july, killing all 290 people on board. This is also the season for cia histories, and this one is both widely researched and readably short. The persian gulf is flanked to the west by wedgeshaped kuwait and by saudi arabia with its vast tan, pink, and whitesand deserts. The washington postlegacy of ashes is the best book ive yet read on the cias covert actions.
The true story behind operation argo to rescue americans. He is times intelligence columnist and has contributed to vanity fair, the wall street journal, and the washington post. Middle east iran the world factbook central intelligence. New documents show us role in 1953 iranian coup wnyc radio jun 30, 2017. The true story behind the new movie argo about how cia operatives posing as a hollywood production team rescued six americans hiding in iran during the 1979 embassy crisis. This book is a must for us foreign policy and iran buffs. Pbsuccess was the code name for a ciabacked coup led against the democratically elected government of jacobo arbenz, the president of guatemala, in 1954. There were two major problems with mossadegh, however, as far as both the british and american governments were concerned. Five books on the legacy of the 1953 coup in iran world.
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