Iran’s political circumstances caused issues for Point Four in the early 1950s, largely due to the general anti-American sentiment. 1952 to 1953 saw frequent rioting and destruction of Point Four offices, which was compounded by the U.S.-supported coup of Mohammad Mossadegh, the democratically elected prime minister of Iran, in 1953. The U.S. government feared that under the leadership of Mossadegh he would marshal Iran into communism. They instead favored the monarch—Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. Most Iranians saw this move as a deliberate attempt to stall their sovereignty and protested American interference.
American ambassadors of the program fundamentally misunderstood the national sentiment and applauded the Shah’s rapid economic growth.
When the political unrest began to escalate, many Utah families returned to the U.S. or were temporarily placed elsewhere in Europe. The families were not able to return to Iran until 1954.
