The first trial was held at the 55th branch of the court dealing with International Affairs of Tehran Province on Sunday, simultaneously with the 71st anniversary of the coup.
According to IRNA's judicial reporter, the court session presided over by Judge Majid Hosseinzadeh focused on the lawsuit filed by some 402,000 Iranians against six American individuals and legal entities, including the US government, the US Department of State, the US Central Bank, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the US Treasury Department, the US House Representatives, and, the Federal Reserve.
The petition has 13 main paragraphs that refer to the damages caused by the coup, including plundering Iran's oil and the 25-year tyrannical rule of the Pahlavi regime over the Iranian nation.
“The present court is competent to deal with this lawsuit based on numerous laws”, the Judge said while initiating the session citing various domestic laws as well as the United Nations Charter.
Shami Aghdam, the lawyer for plaintiffs said that documents clearly show the CIA, with the help of the British spy agency MI6, orchestrated the coup by using their internal and external agents against the legitimate Iranian government under Mosaddegh on August 19, 1953.
Washington and London violated international principles and rules with the aim of maintaining their influence and power in the government, securing their interests and looting the country’s property, the lawyer highlighted.
The 1953 coup set off a series of events, including riots in Tehran, leading to ouster and arrest of Premier Mosaddegh, who had become popular for nationalizing the country’s oil industry and taking it back from British control.
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