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.
I agree that the Tudeh was worrisome, but in hindsight a far better result would have been obtained if the US had not supported the British policies that drove Mossadegh toward Tudeh in the first place.