Readers React: Trump’s Iran tweet is one more sad consequence of the 1953 U.S.-backed coup

To the editor: The Los Angeles Times needs to give a refresher course in our history with Iran since 1953.

That year, the CIA and the United Kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Service orchestrated the overthrow of the democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. The Iranian parliament had voted to nationalize the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.

The British and the Americans did not like that, so they engineered a coup to oust the government. Iran’s brutal monarchy was finally overthrown by the theocratic regime we have today.

So, if we hadn’t interfered 65 years ago, we might not be in our current situation, and President Trump may have had one less issue about which to send his vile tweets. Today’s readers deserve to know what really happened and how we arrived at this dangerous crossroad.

Julie May, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Trump’s all-caps rant against the Iranian government on Twitter late Sunday night may turn out to be more than just macho banter.

The president has surrounded himself with foreign policy advisors who would love to attack Iran. And as we get closer to the midterm elections, Trump is aware a war with Iran would surely boost his approval ratings.

We should be alarmed but not surprised if we get an especially violent October surprise this year.

Arlen Grossman, Monterey

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