text: 1953 coup At the behest of the British and American governments, the Iranian military carried out a coup d'état which put an end to Mossadegh's rule and the era of constitutional monarchy and replaced it by direct rule of the Shah. The newly formed CIA, along with the British intelligence agency MI6, took an active role in the developments, terming their involvement Operation Ajax. Zahedi and his followers, financed by the foreign intelligence services, planted newspaper articles in Iranian publications and paid agent provocateurs to start riots. There were such riots in Tehran and other cities. Fearing his arrest, Zahedi went into hiding.
  On 15 August, after the first attempted coup d'état failed, the Shah fled first to Baghdad, Iraq, and then to Rome, Italy, after signing two decrees, one dismissing Mossadegh and the other naming Zahedi to replace him as Prime Minister. Both decrees were in accordance with clause 46 of the Iranian constitution, which stated that the Shah had the power to appoint all Ministers.
  Backed by the United Kingdom and the United States, and encouraged by the intelligence agents Kermit Roosevelt Jr and Donald Wilber, Zahedi staged a second coup on 19 August 1953. Military units arrested Mossadegh at his home at night. The Shah returned from exile on 22 August 1953. According to the CIA, Zahedi was chosen because he was acceptable to the United States and Britain, had a long record of opposing Mossadegh, had a significant following, and was willing to take the job.