It Was the First Time the CIA Overthrew a Government62 years later, the aftermath is still troubling global politics. Yet even today the US government would rather not talk about it. Thats why it remains an unknown story for many Americans. The year was 1953. The objective was to oust Mohammad Mossadegh, the elected leader of the Majlis, Irans parliament. Mossadegh was not a communist or a radical Islamist. He didnt follow any objectionable ideology. Instead, he was a secular nationalist. But he was inconvenient. Like many Iranians, he was proud of his Persian heritage. (Until 1935, Iran was still known as Persia.) Persia once was an imperial civilization, like Rome. Twentieth-century nationalists channeled that glorious past, and they were keen on independence. So its no surprise Mossadegh was earnest about ridding the countrys politics of foreign influence. For decades the British had enjoyed a sweetheart oil deal struck with a former, corrupt Iranian leader. It allowed them to control Irans petroleum industry and, by extension, the countrys entire economy. To nationalists like Mossadegh, this was intolerable and infuriating. It would be like China getting a sweetheart deal from President Obama for control of the US auto industry. No red-blooded American would stand for such a thing. It was the early 1950s. The smoke from World War II, a war that killed over 60 million people, still lingered. The horrors were fresh in everyones mind. Access to oil had been a decisive factor in that war. Had Hitler succeeded in securing his supply in 1942, the world might look very different today. It was a concept not lost on the British. If any country wanted to win a big war, it needed oil. Lots of it. It was a matter of life and death. Iran was a major source of oil for the British. Access to it was a strategic military asset of the highest order. One the British would not give up for any price. Mossadegh understood this. He concluded that the only way to claw back the oil industry was to nationalize it. On May 1, 1951, he did just that. Shortly afterward, he stated: Another important consideration is that by the elimination of the power of the British company, we would also eliminate corruption and intrigue, by means of which the internal affairs of our country have been influenced. Once this tutelage has ceased, Iran will have achieved its economic and political independence. The British were not about to give up. They hatched a plot to regain their influence in Iran. But they couldnt do it alone. They would need help from the US. But the US just wasnt interested. So the British undertook a campaign to paint Mossadegh as a communist. The Brits played Americas Cold-War fears like a piano. They convinced the US government that the commies were making inroads in Iran. Given that Iran was just south of the expanding Soviet Union, the story was plausible but not true. In the end, it worked. The Americans came on board. Operation Ajax was born. The objective: overthrow Mossadeghs elected government and replace it with something more pliable. MI6, the UKs foreign spy agency, and the CIA would organize the coup. Kermit Roosevelt, a grandson of former US President Teddy Roosevelt, was the CIA officer in charge. The goal was to return the monarchy of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (also known as the Shah) to power. (In Farsi, the Persian language, shah means king.) The CIA and MI6 used classic methods of subterfuge. They paid Iranian goons to pose as communists and wreak havoc in Tehran, the Iranian capital, and vandalize its business district. The police couldnt restrain them, and the violence grew. The coup plotters knew such events would disgust ordinary Iranians, who were fearful of communism. It would cause them to demand action. That action would include the Iranian military stepping in. As part of the plot, the CIA and MI6 had corrupted key Iranian generals for just this moment. As if on cue, the generals took charge and deposed Mossadeghs government. The Iranian people didnt resist. Instead, they cheered. They thought the military was saving them from a violent communist revolution. Mossadeghs government was out of the way. The coups operatives in the Iranian military had seized power. The path had been cleared for the Shah. The Shah knew he owed his position to the US and UK. What they giveth, they could taketh away. The Shah was more than willing to do whatever the US and UK wanted him to do. Operation Ajax was a success but it would not be an enduring one. The Iranian people would eventually figure out what really happened. Many of them would come to despise the Shah as a puppet of a foreign power. To maintain his position, the Shah became more despotic which only fed the opposition. In 1979, 26 years after Operation Ajax, a popular uprising overthrew the Shah. A power struggle ensued, and Ayatollah Khomeinis Islamist forces prevailed. The Islamic Republic of Iran was born. This time, it was an anti-American government that came to power. Decades of animosity followed, and it continues to this day. Its unthinkable to most that the Islamic Republic of Iran could offer any sort of investment opportunity. Many find the mere mention of the country distasteful. Theres another country that most would have considered unthinkable to invest in at one time. Many got hot under the collar just at the mention of its name too: the Peoples Republic of China. If you had followed their thinking, you would have missed out on one of recent historys most powerful economic booms. Thats precisely why you should ditch the conventional wisdom when it comes to thinking about profiting from Iran. If you dont, you could be letting a once-in-a-generation opportunity pass you by. Recently, I discussed investing in Iran with legendary investor Jim Rogers. He told us: I bought Iranian shares in 1993, and over the next few years, [they] went up something like 47 times, so it was an astonishing success. That was then. Now, additional sanctions make investing directly in Iran off limits to Americans and most Europeans. But that could soon change. The conclusion of the negotiations on Irans nuclear program means the economic floodgates will open. Persia will once again be open for business. It would be a big deal: Irans $370 billion economy is by far the largest still excluded from the international financial system. Iran has the worlds third-largest proven oil reserves (10% of the worlds total) and the second-largest proven natural gas reserves (17% of the worlds total). A tremendous amount of wealth is waiting to be developed. Irans economy is not all about natural resources. The country is home to advanced nanotechnologies and the Middle Easts largest car manufacturer. Its young population of 78 million yearns for iPhones and other Western products, and theres enormous built-up demand. That demand is getting ready to explode like Mt. St. Helens. European and Asian companies have been scrambling to Tehran to line up business deals. In short, the opening of Iran is a massive opportunity. Even if the West doesnt lift the sanctions, Iran will simply turn to the East to do business. Either way, the Iranian economy is on course to experience one of the greatest booms in recent history. Its on a scale the world hasnt seen since the opening of China. Opportunities like this dont happen every day, every year, or even every decade. But for the average American, Iran is at the bottom of the list of potential investment destinations. Thats what more than 30 years of hostility and charter membership in the Axis of Evil will do. The sentiment couldnt get any worse. As a contrarian, thats just how I like it. But only if there is a solid reason to believe that the negative sentiment is misplaced. In the case of Iran, I am certain that it is. In the not-so-distant past, I used to live in the United Arab Emirates right across the Persian Gulf from Iran. Being there gave me the chance to see the country firsthand. On the Ground in Iran Hands down, Iran is the most fascinating country Ive ever been to. Ive been to almost every country in the Middle East. Iran stands out for a number of reasons. Unlike most other states in the Middle East, Persia is not an artificial construct. By race, religion, and social history, it is a nation. And European bureaucrats didnt dream up Iran by drawing zig-zags on a map. The map reflects the geographic reality of a country with natural, fortress-like, mountain borders. You cant simply hop on a flight to Tehran from New York, like you would to Vancouver or London. You cant enter the country unless the Iranian government has granted you permission in advance. And they take their careful time. The US has no diplomatic relations with Iran. There is no Iranian embassy or consulate in the US at which to apply for a visa, but there is an Iranian interests section in the Pakistani embassy in Washington, DC, that can handle such requests. I was living near Dubai at the time, so it was easier for me to go to the Iranian consulate there. But you cant just drop in to the Iranian consulate and apply for a tourist visa. You have to work with an authorized service to assist you in the process, which is what I did. After I submitted my paperwork and waited a number of weeks, and then waited another couple of weeks, the Iranian government approved my application. I immediately noticed that the Iranian visa in my passport was not the kind of cheap stamp you often get from Third-World countries. Instead it carried holograms and other anti-counterfeiting features. Things that are associated with documents from developed countries. It was a clue that Iran, a seemingly isolated and underdeveloped place, was more sophisticated than I had expected. Sanctions have disconnected Iran from the international financial system. Your ATM and credit cards wont work there. You need to bring cash (US dollars or euros work best) and exchange it for Iranian rials. Iranians also have increasingly returned to gold as a store of value and medium of exchange. This is no surprise. People in all corners of the globe have used gold this way for thousands of years. As soon as my flight landed in Tehran, my Iranian tour guide greeted me. The Iranian government requires that minders accompany Americans at all times. Its a result of the Iranian governments not-necessarily unreasonable paranoia. Theyd like to prevent Operation Ajax 2.0. Having a mandatory tour guide wasnt all bad. Mine was a dual American-Iranian citizen named Ali. Ali had spent a lot of time in California and spoke perfect American English. He took me everywhere I wanted to go. At the end of some days, Ali would let me go off on my own. This gave me the chance to explore Tehrans affluent northern suburbs and legendary bazaar. No matter where I went, everyone was genuinely kind and hospitable even after figuring out I was American. Not what you would expect for a place known for its Death to America chants. It became obvious the average Iranian harbors no hatred for Americans. (For more on what life is really like in Iran, Id suggest you watch travel writer Rick Steves video, Rick Steves Iran.) The trip to Iran helped solidify my belief that the country is the ultimate contrarian opportunity. It revealed the reality hiding behind the frenzied sentiment of conventional thinking. It was just waiting for the right catalyst. And now that catalyst is at hand. The conclusion of the nuclear negotiations and the relaxation of sanctions will release all the massive, built-up economic potential. The rationale for profiting from the opening of Iran is clear. Finding a practical way to do so is not. There is a way, however and a good one. One that is easily accessible through any brokerage account to US investors and is completely legal for them. For all the details click here to check out the latest issue of Crisis Speculator. Operation Ajax Thankfully, such false flag manipulation of the public will isnt possible for the freedom-loving and well informed United States civilian population. Heavens no, by God! Americans have a TV in every room, even in our cars! We know whats really going on (whatever a handful of disgruntled tinfoil wingnuts like to spout). We have mandatory free education for all, freedom of the press, a government limited by a strong Constitution, built in political checks and balances between three equally powerful government branches, and leaders democratically elected from the general populace, by the general populace. Sure, you can occasionally point to a few bad apples in government, but they dont last long in a freedom-oriented system as enlightened as ours. 