The increasing tensions in Iran, driven in part by British imperialism, leads to the formation of a religious terror group called Fedayeen-i-Islam, the first of its kind.

In 1949 the Iranian Majlis put forward a bill to revoke the British oil concession. This, combined with worker riots in Abadan, prompted the British to take action. Meanwhile, Mossadegh forms a new political party, The National Front, and General Ali Razmara, who had been one of General Schwarzkopf’s most trusted officers, is made PM at the “suggestion” of the British.

When Reza makes himself Shah, Mossadegh is livid. He refuses to agree to it. Then he turns down multiple senior positions in the Shah’s cabinet. He ends up retiring from public life at age 45, gets imprisoned, and tries to commit suicide. He returns when the Shah is forced to abdicate, but an attempted assassination on the new Shah makes the political situation in Iran even worse. And a flamboyant American soldier arrives to help build a brutal paramilitary police force – General H. Norman Schwarzkopf Sr.

Mossadegh had two non-negotiables that drove his political game. First, he was a die-hard believer in the rule of law, which put him on a collision course with autocrats like Reza Shah. Second, he was all about Iranian self-rule, making him Public Enemy No. 1 for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. He wasn’t just against them; he was their kryptonite.

Dive into the turbulent history of oil in Iran, where George Reynolds, a self-taught geologist funded by Aussie entrepreneur William Knox D’Arcy, battled smallpox, bandits, and desert heat to uncover the largest oil field ever found. Reynolds’ discovery catapulted Iran into the global energy arena, but not without exploitation and strife. D’Arcy and the Scots invested heavily in what became the Anglo-Persian Oil Company—later BP—creating a colonial empire in Abadan that funneled wealth away from Iranians. Winston Churchill recognized the geopolitical prize, leading the British government to buy a majority stake in the company. Despite internal revolutions, worker strikes, and the rise of nationalist figures like Mohammad Mossadegh, the relationship between Iran and Britain remained fraught, embedded in a complex web of financial and political interests. From world wars to the overthrow of regimes, the story of Iranian oil is a saga of ambition, betrayal, and raw power.

We’re talking about Reza Shah, a soldier who rose to power from a humble background, pulled of a British-engineered coup, and effectively ruled Iran from 1921 – 1941.

Iran’s first attempt at democracy ended when the British and the Russians decided amongst themselves to divide up Iran in 1907 and supported the new Shah’s desire to crush the parliament. But the Iranians fought on, exiled the Shah and replaced him with his 11 year old son. Then they hired an American banker to clean up corruption. The British and Russians didn’t like that, so they had him thrown out as well.

The Shah continued selling the family jewels to the British and Russians, including the entire Iranian tobacco industry. He was eventually assassinated and replaced by his son, who had learned nothing. In 1901 he sold William Knox D’Arcy the entire Iranian oil industry. This shaped all of subsequent Iranian history.

In this episode, we delve into the history of Iran, focusing on the US’s role in ending democratic rule in 1953 and installing Mohammad Reza Shah’s dictatorship, a fact well-known in Iran but only admitted by the US in the 90s. This event led to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, headed by Ayatollah Khomeini, and fueled anti-Western sentiments across the Middle East. We discuss the significant figure of Mohammad Mossadegh, and the history of Iran under the Qajar shahs, the stagnation and foreign exploitation during this period, and the controversial Reuter concession of 1872, which was a significant surrender of Iran’s industrial resources to foreign control, but was quickly cancelled due to widespread opposition.

The trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and the concept of psychological warfare. The Rosenberg trial, which began in March 1951, was a sensational case involving accusations of espionage for the Soviet Union. The couple, tried alongside fellow Communist Morton Sobell, were defended by Manny and Alexander Bloch. The trial involved key testimonies, including that of David Greenglass, Ethel’s brother, who admitted to passing on atomic information. The Rosenbergs were found guilty and sentenced to death. The trial was heavily influenced by the ongoing Cold War tension and the fear of Communist threat.

We also discuss the creation of the Psychological Strategy Board (PSB), designed to coordinate Cold War psychological warfare and propaganda. The PSB worked on creating a narrative to justify prosecuting the Rosenbergs, though this narrative faced opposition. The PSB was later dissolved and its functions transferred to other organizations. The use of psychological operations continues today, conducted by the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the United States Agency for Global Media.

Finally, the we explore the ‘spiral of silence’ theory by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, a concept explaining how individuals often conform to majority opinion due to fear of isolation. This concept is particularly relevant in the context of mass communication and public opinion.

We continue the shocking story of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, charged with conspiracy to commit espionage from 1944 to 1950. The US government sought the death penalty and engaged in questionable tactics during the trial, while public debate grew over the extreme sentencing. We discuss the role of Roy Cohn, Donald Trump’s future mentor and lawyer, the unethical conduct of judge Irving R. Kaufman, and the damaging testimony of David Greenglass, which falsely implicated his sister, Ethel.

After Nagasaki, Oppenheimer went to Washington to convince Truman that a bigger bomb wasn’t the solution. He failed. The guy who ended up designing it was Edward Teller with a little help from a computer called ENIAC and a genius called von Neumann. In the meantime, Truman found out that the number of bombs in the bomb cupboard was a lot less than he thought.

Another thing that happened in 1950 was Truman’s decision to push ahead with building the hydrogen bomb, a weapon hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs that he dropped on Japan. Why did he want even more powerful bombs when the war was over? And who tried to stop him? And who designed the H Bomb? How was it built?

Richard Nixon was made the chair of a subcommittee to determine who was lying in the Hiss case. Chambers publicly called Hiss a communist and a spy. As evidence, he produced the “Pumpkin Papers”. Even today, historians can’t agree on whether or not Hiss was guilty. Then we go back to the Rosenbergs and the USG’s attempt to make them an example by making them suffer the ultimate punishment.

In December 1950, MacArthur and Truman are both threatening the use of atomic weapons against China and North Korea. Meanwhile, the British are trying to talk them into making peace with China, while Truman struggles with massive unpopularity back home.

The big question for the Pentagon was why the US collapsed so quickly. They could blame the winter and the mountains – but the Chinese had to contend with those as well. And the US wasn’t sure what their next move was. Truman wanted a quick settlement, but MacArthur wanted escalation.

We were recently invited by Paul Giordano, a listener of this show, to give a lecture to the kids studying the Cold War at EF Academy in NY where Paul is the Humanities Department Chair. We spoke for about 40 minutes then did some Q&A with the very bright kids in his class. This is a recording of our Zoom call. We’re available for more school lectures, kids’ parties, wedding and bar mitzvahs.

Taking a short break from our CIA series this week to talk to retired U.S. Major Danny Sjursen. Danny was a U.S. Army strategist and history instructor at West Point. He served tours with reconnaissance units in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He has written a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War, Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge. These days he’s an outspoken critic of American imperialism.

Danny talks to use about his journey from being your typical post-9/11 U.S. soldier wanting revenge, to the war critic that he is today. We also talk about the nature of the military-industrial complex, the so-called “West Point Mafia”, Trump’s military track record, Biden’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, and what might happen if Trump tries to declare martial law.

Follow Danny at @SkepticalVet and check out his podcast “Fortress on a Hill,” co-hosted with fellow vet Chris “Henri” Henrikson.

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