Zeitgeist

Regime Change In Iran: A History of Backfire

From the 1953 coup to the alleged plan to install Ahmadinejad, a shelf on how foreign-backed leadership swaps in Iran get drawn up, and why they keep unraveling.

6 booksMay 20, 2026

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US and Israel planned to install Ahmadinejad as Iranian leader, NYT saysaljazeera.com Early War Goal Was to Install Hard-Line Former President as Iran’s Leadernytimes.com US and Israel ‘hoped to install Ahmadinejad as Iran’s leader’theguardian.com

Part of 590+ tracked lists·1 crossover shelf·70% reader overlap with How Iran, Israel, and the US Got Here

1. All the Shah's Men
Stephen Kinzer
Stephen Kinzer's account of the 1953 CIA coup provides the essential historical precedent for external attempts to...
Shelf signal: Iranian History
2. Iran's Rise and Rivalry With the US in the Middle East
Mohsen M. Milani
Mohsen Milani explains Iran's post-1979 rise and rivalry with the United States, framing why outside powers pursue...
Shelf signal: Iranian History
3. Rise and Kill First
Ronen Bergman
Ronen Bergman's history of Israeli targeted operations illuminates Israel's use of covert action and assassination as...
Shelf signal: Afghan War (2001-)
4. To Start a War
Robert Draper
Robert Draper's analysis of how presidents decide to go to war offers insight into U.S. executive-branch decisionmaking...
Shelf signal: Iraq War (2003-2011)
5. The Shadow Commander
Arash Azizi, Eric Jason Martin
The Shadow Commander sheds light on Iran's internal security dynamics and key figures whose targeting and removal shape...
Shelf signal: Iranian History
6. America's War for the Greater Middle East
Andrew J. Bacevich
Andrew Bacevich's critique of U.S. Middle East strategy explains the strategic missteps and blowback risks of military...
Shelf signal: Iraq History
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