Ervand Abrahamian is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Baruch College and Graduate Center, City University of New York. He is the author of several books including Iran Between Two Revolutions (1982) and A History of Modern Iran (2018). He was elected in 2010 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

'Ervand Abrahamian's new research puts an end to the myth that the American-British offer in 1951–1953 was a generous one that Mossadeq should have accepted. It clearly shows that, among other issues, the offer was designed to buy time in order to resolve the crisis by dealing with a more 'friendly' post-Mossadeq government.' Maziar Behrooz, San Francisco State University

• Introduction; 1. US involvement; 2. US concerns: oil or communism?; 3. Parliamentary politics; 4. The road to the coup; 5. Memory revised.

Ervand Abrahamian is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Baruch College and Graduate Center, City University of New York. He is the author of several books including Iran Between Two Revolutions (1982) and A History of Modern Iran (2018). He was elected in 2010 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

'Ervand Abrahamian's new research puts an end to the myth that the American-British offer in 1951–1953 was a generous one that Mossadeq should have accepted. It clearly shows that, among other issues, the offer was designed to buy time in order to resolve the crisis by dealing with a more 'friendly' post-Mossadeq government.' Maziar Behrooz, San Francisco State University

• Introduction; 1. US involvement; 2. US concerns: oil or communism?; 3. Parliamentary politics; 4. The road to the coup; 5. Memory revised.

Ervand Abrahamian is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Baruch College and Graduate Center, City University of New York. He is the author of several books including Iran Between Two Revolutions (1982) and A History of Modern Iran (2018). He was elected in 2010 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

'Ervand Abrahamian's new research puts an end to the myth that the American-British offer in 1951–1953 was a generous one that Mossadeq should have accepted. It clearly shows that, among other issues, the offer was designed to buy time in order to resolve the crisis by dealing with a more 'friendly' post-Mossadeq government.' Maziar Behrooz, San Francisco State University

• Introduction; 1. US involvement; 2. US concerns: oil or communism?; 3. Parliamentary politics; 4. The road to the coup; 5. Memory revised.