The Shah couldn't have taken the power without US help. It's one of the US few success, Pinochet being the second. Obviously it's easier when you have internal

The Shah couldn't have taken the power without US help. It's one of the US few success, Pinochet being the second. Obviously it's easier when you have internal support. Basically the Iranian conservatives were divided. The Shah was unlikeable (or untrustworthy I think, if I remember correctly), so the old feudal/clannish/agrarian society wouldn't really support him. The industrialists liked him better, and the islamistes didn't respect him. He had one advantage: a semi-legitimate claim that a majority would recognize. He promised the 3 guarantees once in power, and since he had the political acumen of a 12 yo, the Cia handed the negociations for him (this is a 3rd-hand story). The coup worked, but he gave too much of his power after that, and basically handed the state to islamists (his political acumen didn't improve with the years). That's the story I heard from an Iranian. I choose to believe it until all is declassified.