On August 19, 1953, a military coup overthrew democratically-elected Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mossadeq. Sixty years later, the National Security Archive at George Washington University released declassified documents revealing the CIA’s role in orchestrating the coup. “American and British involvement in Mossadegh’s ouster has long been public knowledge, but today’s posting includes what is believed to be the CIA’s first formal acknowledgement that the agency helped to plan and execute the coup,” the National Security Archive briefing reads. Malcolm Byrne, deputy director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University, explains what happened. (Photo: AP Images).