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Norman Darbyshire (1 October 1924 - 17 June 1993) was the British MI6 operative who led the 1953 coup d'état that overthrew Mohammed Mossadegh, the democratically-elected prime minister of Iran. Credit and blame for the coup has long been attributed solely to the United States CIA, while the dominant role of the British, and MI6 operative Darbyshire in particular, has been hidden. Among other things, he was involved in the kidnapping, torture, and assassination of General Mahmoud Afshartous, Mossadegh's chief of police, and bribed the twin sister of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to play a key role in the coup and to eventually become a power behind his resulting dictatorship.

Darbyshire died in 1993, aged 68.

In the 2019 documentary Coup 53 by the British-Iranian film-maker Taghi Amirani about the 1953 Iranian coup d'état - in USA, the coup was known as Operation Ajax, while in Britain it was Operation Boot - actor Ralph Fiennes plays the part of Darbyshire.

References

1. Hornaday, Ann (18 August 2020). "Movie Review: Documentary illuminates the secret history of the 1953 Iranian coup". Washington Post.
2. "Transcript of Interview with Norman Darbyshire for End of Empire, c. 1985 (uncut) | National Security Archive". nsarchive.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
3. Gambrell, Jon (14 January 2016). "Obituary: Princess Ashraf of Iran: The Shah of Iran's twin sister who was regarded as the power behind the throne and faced corruption allegations". Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21.
4. "MI6, the coup in Iran that changed the Middle East, and the cover-up". 2 August 2020.

• MI6 operatives in Iran
• 1993 deaths
• 1924 births