The 1953 coup occurred after the Iranian elites placed their hopes in America. The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmail Bagai, told a conference of researchers that the 1953 coup occurred after the Iranian elites placed their hopes in the United States and were disillusioned by the humiliating behavior of Britain and its opposition to the nationalization of oil, when Iran was forced to seek refuge in America. He said that the Iranians felt that America had stabbed them in the back, that the direct consequences of the coups lasted 25 years and led to a harsh dictatorship, and that the experience of being controlled and humiliated by a foreign power remained in the collective memory of the Iranians. Bagai said Washington never tried to fix the situation, not even by apologizing.

The 1953 coup occurred after the Iranian elites placed their hopes in America. The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmail Bagai, told a conference of researchers that the 1953 coup occurred after the Iranian elites placed their hopes in the United States and were disillusioned by the humiliating behavior of Britain and its opposition to the nationalization of oil, when Iran was forced to seek refuge in America. He said that the Iranians felt that America had stabbed them in the back, that the direct consequences of the coups lasted 25 years and led to a harsh dictatorship, and that the experience of being controlled and humiliated by a foreign power remained in the collective memory of the Iranians. Bagai said Washington never tried to fix the situation, not even by apologizing.