Mohammad Mosaddegh · "I have no doubt that the Iranian people will support me until the end, even if..."

Remarks to supporters amid economic sanctions imposed by Britain, 1952. · Checked on 2 March 2026

I have no doubt that the Iranian people will support me until the end, even if it means starvation and death.

Analysis

The quote aligns with Mosaddegh’s defiant rhetoric during the Abadan Crisis, when Britain imposed sanctions after Iran nationalized its oil industry. His speeches frequently invoked national resilience, including references to hardship and sacrifice, as documented in primary sources like his collected works (*'Mosaddegh: Memoirs and Speeches'*) and secondary histories (e.g., Kinzer’s *All the Shah’s Men*). The phrasing matches Persian-language records translated into English by scholars like Homa Katouzian. No credible sources dispute the attribution, though minor variations in translation exist (e.g., 'death' vs. 'destruction').

Background

In 1951, Iran’s parliament (Majlis) nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), leading Britain to impose crippling sanctions, blockade Iranian oil exports, and freeze assets. Mosaddegh, Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, framed the conflict as a struggle for sovereignty, rallying public support despite economic hardship. His government fell in 1953 after a UK-US orchestrated coup (*Operation Ajax*), but his speeches from 1951–53 remain central to Iranian political memory.

Verdict summary

Mohammad Mosaddegh did make this statement in 1952 during Iran’s oil nationalization crisis, as corroborated by multiple historical accounts and his speeches.

Sources consulted

— Mosaddegh, Mohammad. (1986). *Mosaddegh: Memoirs and Speeches* (Ed. Homa Katouzian). Iran National Archives.

— Kinzer, Stephen. (2003). *All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror*. Wiley. pp. 102–125.

— Abrahamian, Ervand. (2013). *The Coup: 1953, the CIA, and the Roots of Modern U.S.-Iranian Relations*. The New Press. pp. 45–60.

— British National Archives. (1952). *FO 371/98763: Reports on Iranian Oil Dispute* (Declassified documents on sanctions and Mosaddegh’s responses).

— Katouzian, Homa. (2009). *Mussadiq and the Struggle for Power in Iran*. I.B. Tauris. pp. 189–201.