History Professor Maziar Behrooz Discusses 1953 Coup in Iran

MIDDLE EAST EYE -- “The 1953 coup and events following the Shah’s land reform program in the 1960s created a degree of pessimism and an atmosphere of helplessness among those who opposed the Shah,” explains Professor Maziar Behrooz, a historian at San Francisco State University. “The Siahkal operation and the start of the [armed] movement managed to break through state censorship and create a sense of optimism among many people,” adds Behrooz, whose book “Rebels with a Cause: The Failure of the Left in Iran” analyzes the 1970s armed movement in Iran.