Mossadegh nationalized the British-owned oil industry. That did not make him a Soviet ally. We didn’t need to meddle in Iran’s internal affairs to have a regime that would look to the West for protection against the red menace on their northern doorstep. Geopolitical reality would have kept the US and Iran close with or without the Shah had we not stuck our nose where it didn’t belong.
I didn’t say he was a communist. I said he was a Soviet ally. Part of his coalition was the communist Tudeh Party which received support from the Soviets. The Soviets clearly supported him. Unfortunately at that time our fight against Soviet communism was entangled in the old European colonialism. The Soviets were gaining ground in the third world by supporting and coopting nationalist movements. I’m just saying it’s not all black and white. Sometimes the enemy of your enemy is your friend, and visa versa.