The roots of nationalization trace back to exploitative concessions, such as the 1901 D’Arcy Agreement and the 1933 Oil Concession, which granted Britain extensive control over Iran’s oil resources.
In 1951, under Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, Iran’s parliament voted to nationalize the oil industry, ending decades of foreign dominance by the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) that plundered the country’s oil resources.
The historic decision was a bold step toward economic sovereignty, ensuring that Iran’s vast oil resources benefited its people rather than foreign entities.
The move, however, triggered Western backlash, including a British embargo and a CIA-backed coup in 1953 that temporarily reversed the nationalization.
Mossadegh’s government was overthrown in a 1953 CIA-MI6 coup, reinstating Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and reversing the gains. The 1954 Consortium Agreement returned control to Western companies until the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
However, the nationalization laid the groundwork for Iran’s control over its oil sector.
Today, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) manages Iran’s oil and gas industries.
