Why was Mosaddeq forced to change his democratic ways?

• A. Pressure from the CIA
• B. Economic crisis
• C. External sanctions
• D. Coercion by the Tudeh and the National Front

Answer: (D)

The situation Mosaddeq faced that pushed him away from a fully open, democratic path came from external intervention and powerful domestic power struggles, not pressure from his own allies. He nationalized Iran’s oil and challenged foreign influence, which provoked dangerous pushback from Britain and, with growing concern in Washington, the United States. This external pressure culminated in a coordinated coup in 1953, with the Shah and elements of the military backing the operation, and it effectively overthrew his government. Once the coup succeeded, Mosaddeq’s ability to pursue broad democratic reforms was crushed, and the regime moved away from the earlier democratic practices.

The idea that coercion came from the Tudeh (the leftist party) and the National Front (his own coalition) doesn’t fit the historical pattern. The National Front was Mosaddeq’s political base, advocating nationalization and parliamentary governance, while the Tudeh was suppressed and sidelined during the crisis. It was the foreign-backed coup and the internal power realignment around the Shah and the military that forced changes in how his government operated, not coercion from those groups.