A four-volume narrative by Mohammad-Ali Movahhed, a distinguished Iranian historian and analyst whose background spans law, political science, oil journalism, and early experience with OPEC, “A Troubled Sleep of Oil” unfolds Iran’s modern oil history through a tightly argued, legally informed lens.
Published by Karnameh Publication, the first volume covers the arc from the D’Arcy Concession to the fall of Reza Shah, laying the groundwork with a meticulous account of contracts, negotiations, and the legal mechanisms that shaped Iran’s oil regime.
Volumes two and three focus on the national movement led by Mohammad Mosaddegh and the Iranian National Movement, detailing the political, economic, and diplomatic dynamics that culminated in nationalization and its aftermath.
The fourth volume analyzes the period from the 1953 coup to the fall of Zahedi, offering a critical synthesis of how external interference, internal power struggles, and oil policy interacted to redefine Iran’s political economy.
Movahhed centers his narrative on subtle diplomatic maneuvers, contractual intricacies, and the legal frameworks that governed oil agreements, arguing that these micro-level processes illuminate macro-level transformations in Iran’s development and governance.
The work may be best suited for readers with a scholarly or policy-oriented interest in Iran’s oil history.
A four-volume format invites assessment of how well the overarching argument holds together across different eras and topics.
The book is highly recommended for scholars and students of Iranian history, energy policy, international law, and diplomacy.
Researchers interested in the intersection of oil economics and political change, as well as readers seeking a detailed, source-grounded narrative of Iran’s modern development, can read this book.
Professionals in oil industry studies, political science, and Middle East studies who value a historically informed, legally grounded interpretation of pivotal events are invited to read the work.
A four-volume, meticulously documented journey through Iran’s modern oil era. Movahhed offers a distinctive, rigorous perspective that illuminates how oil policy and international negotiations shaped Iran’s political economy—and, in turn, the fate of a nation.
Nationalization of the oil movement and the 1953 coup
In 1901, William Knox D’Arcy, a British investor backed by the British government, secured a sixty-year concession from Mozzafar al-Din Shah Qajar to exploit Iranian oil. Oil was discovered in Masjed Soleiman, Khuzestan, in 1907, marking the first such discovery in West Asia and the southern Persian Gulf. Subsequently, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company was established within two years to produce and export Iranian oil.
Reza Shah, the first Pahlavi king, with British support, sought to reverse the concessions granted by his Qajar predecessors. While he cancelled the D'Arcy Concession in 1932, the 1933 oil concession that followed remained unfavorable to Iran.
Iranians opposed the D’Arcy Concession, seeking greater rights and a larger share of oil revenues, while Britain aimed to maximize its gains and control over Iranian resources. The British sought a stronger, parliament-ratified agreement to avoid the weaknesses of the previous concession.
The 1933 agreement extended the concession for another sixty years, triggering outrage and contributing to the 1951 nationalization movement. Following the 1933 agreement's ratification, Reza Shah received funds in a London bank account, while Iran's limited share was spent by him and his circle.
Concurrently, Britain and Russia competed for control over Iran's resources.
The movement to nationalize the Iranian oil industry arose as a response to concessions granted to foreign powers by both Qajar and Pahlavi Shahs and originated in the parliament.
Lawmaker Mohammad Mosaddegh spearheaded the movement and later became Iran's prime minister.
In 1941, British and Soviet troops invaded and occupied Iran, deposing Reza Shah. He was exiled, and Iran remained under Allied occupation until 1946. Upon Mohammad Reza Shah's ascension, the anti-colonial oil nationalization movement gained significant momentum. Ayatollah Abol-Ghasem Kashani also led a popular movement against foreign interference.
The post-World War II weakness of Mohammad Reza Shah's regime further empowered the oil nationalization movement as various political groups emerged and gained influence.
The movement to nationalize the oil industry was a reaction by the Iranians to concessions made by both Qajar and Pahlavi Shahs to foreign powers. The movement had originated in the parliament and was led by Mosaddegh when he was a lawmaker.
The Aug. 19, 1953 coup was primarily motivated by the desire to protect British oil interests in Iran, specifically after Prime Minister Mossadegh had nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
The US CIA and the British MI6 orchestrated the coup against the democratically elected Mossadegh government to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as the sole ruler.
The coup plot lasted for five days from August 15th to 19th. This event involved the CIA and British intelligence (MI6) orchestrating a series of actions, including disinformation and military campaigns, to undermine Mosaddegh's government and reinstall the last Iranian Shah. Indeed, The young Shah, along with Britain and the US, could not stand the nationalization of the oil industry and the democratically-elected Mosaddegh. For that, they overthrew his government.
After the success of the coup, the Shah reversed the course on the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry. In the aftermath of the coup, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi could reassert his autocratic rule and negotiated the 1954 Consortium Agreement with the British, which returned the ownership of Iranian oil to a consortium of Western companies until 1979, the year the Islamic Revolution became victorious.
It is generally agreed today that the 1953 coup sowed the seeds for the Islamic Revolution of 1979, in which the Shah was overthrown. But even after the 1979 Islamic revolution, which eliminated US presence in Iran entirely,
Reported by Tohid Mahmoudpour
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