The Name of 'Oil' Street in Tehran Changed to 'Mohammad Mossadegh'

The Tehran City Council has changed the name of 'Oil' Street in District 3 of the capital to 'Mohammad Mossadegh', the Prime Minister of Iran during the Pahlavi regime and the leader of the nationalization of the country's oil industry. Ali E'ta, the spokesperson for the Tehran City Council, announced on Tuesday, March 13, that in today's council meeting, all 19 present members approved the proposal to change the name of 'Oil Street' to Mohammad Mossadegh. Oil Street, approximately 805 meters long, is located between Shahid Haqqani Highway and Shahid Dasgardi Street in Tehran, and will now bear the name of Mohammad Mossadegh. According to members of the Tehran City Council, this name change was proposed by Mahmoud Da'i, the head of the Information newspaper and a figure close to Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. The Tehran City Council initially decided to change the name of Labor Street to Mohammad Mossadegh, a decision that was ultimately canceled. Mohammad Javad Haqshenas, the head of the Cultural and Social Commission of the Tehran City Council, stated three days prior to the name change that Oil Street has become established under this name and that the area does not relate to the historical period of the 1920s and 1930s, leading the council to consider options like Keshavarz Boulevard and Labor Street to rename it after Mohammad Mossadegh. However, the naming of a street in the capital of Iran after Mohammad Mossadegh provoked a reaction from the son of Ayatollah Abolqasem Kashani, who considers Mr. Mossadegh to be the cause of the 'failure of the Iranian national movement'. Ayatollah Kashani initially supported the nationalization of Iran's oil with Mohammad Mossadegh but gradually became one of his opponents until August 19, 1953, when Mossadegh's government was overthrown in a coup organized by the CIA with British support. Madeleine Albright, the former U.S. Secretary of State, acknowledged her country's role in the overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh's government in 2000. Mahmoud Kashani, the son of Ayatollah Kashani, in a note published by the Tasnim news agency, reiterated his previous statements, calling the coup against Mohammad Mossadegh a 'historical lie' and claimed that 'Mossadegh, by inciting public discontent, acted in accordance with British policies and ultimately, through unconstitutional actions and a sham referendum held by force, and by dissolving the 17th National Assembly, created the conditions for the transfer of governmental power and the failure of the Iranian national movement.' Previously, the name Mohammad Mossadegh was on one of the main streets of Tehran. After the fall of the Pahlavi regime, the name of Pahlavi Street was changed to Mohammad Mossadegh, but this naming lasted only two and a half years before the officials of the Islamic Republic changed the street's name to 'Vali Asr'.