HistoryPhotos

I don’t think people appreciate how close any society is to a small extremist ideology taking over. Democracy and freedom are not inherent. They must be continuously defended to prevent small interest groups from corrupting the system and taking over control from within. Look at the legal bribery and oligopoly the US has become, or what it may be shifting towards now. This is all enabled by the “silent majority” playing the “and then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me” game.

Mohammad Mossadegh was a beloved figure in Iran. During his tenure, he introduced a range of social and economic policies, the most significant being the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry. Great Britain had controlled Iran's oil for decades through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. After months of talks the prime minister broke off negotiations and denied the British any further involvement in Iran's oil industry. Britain then appealed to the United States for help, which eventually led the CIA to orchestrate the overthrow of Mossadegh and restore power to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.

Basically Iran sought to nationalize its oil reserves since British Petroleum was extracting the bulk of its profits and the US and Britain responded by installing a Western friendly dictator (similar to what the CIA has done in South America countless times).

Iranians won their freedom back in the Iranian Revolution of 1978 but theocracy took root due to Khomeini's political acumen.

I've seen such images be used to justify Western imperialism/exploitation via what I would call white feminism ie. the woman there are oppressed so we can exploit the people into destitution and despair as long as we bring social change. I know that's not what you're trying to do but I just want to make sure it's clear that all people deserve access to the fruits of their labor and resources of their land. Western neocolonialism is a scourge.

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/31/690363402/how-the-cia-overthrew-irans-democracy-in-four-days

Tl;Dr: Western intervention overthrew Iran's democratically elected leade in 1953, opening the door to authoritarianism and leading to the circumstances pictured above.