[mass55th]

If the Shah had the authority to dismiss the Prime Minister, then why was there a need for a CIA - MI6 orchestrated coup?

[Jonty30]

Because they wanted control of Iran’s resources. They thought that the Ayatoilet could be controlled, so they helped him gain control.

[piasa]

The Shah appointed him in the first place, it isn’t an elected position.

Motassedeq set off alarm bells by violating their separation of powers so to speak, by demanding unconstitutional authority over the army, which he used to try to replace the officers with his own family members and friends.

He also dissolved parliament- not very democratic of him.

So, like other PMs before him about whose dismissal there was no controversy, he was dismissed by the same Shah that appointed him.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

If the Shah had the authority to dismiss the Prime Minister, then why was there a need for a CIA - MI6 orchestrated coup?

Soviet-backed Mosaddeq tried to overthrow the Shah after the Shah constitutionally dissolved Mosaddeq's government. And Eisenhower, with assistance from Britain, made the correct decision to back and support the Shah. Pahlavi was reliably anti-communist and anti-Islamist his whole life. That's why Jimmy Carter hated him.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

Soviet-backed Mosaddeq tried to overthrow the Shah after the Shah constitutionally dissolved Mosaddeq's government.

I had to look it up, and technically, I'm incorrect. The Shah did not dissolve Mosaddeq's government. He dismissed Mosaddeq as prime minister (which the Shah had the constitutional power to do so) after Mosaddeq dissolved his own government (which the prime minister did not have the constitutional power to do so).

Iran 1953 went like this:

July 25, 1953: Mosaddeq, who had been prime minister since 1951, announces there will be a public referendum whether to dissolve parliament.

August 3-10: Public referendum and voting takes place.

August 13: Mosaddeq announces the outcome of the vote: 2,043,389 votes for dissolution vs. only 1,207 against — over 99.9% in favor. Mosaddeq writes to the Shah requesting a decree for new elections. The Shah doesn't believe the election results and thinks they were rigged. The Shah also argues that according to Iran's 1906 amended constitution, only the Shah had the formal power to dissolve parliament. Mosaddeq's referendum bypassed normal legislative and royal procedures.

August 13 or 14: The Shah signs two royal decrees: one dismissing Mosaddeq as prime minster and another assigning General Zahedi as prime minister.

August 15: The Shah sends the commander of the Imperial Guard to deliver the decrees to Mosaddeq. Mosaddeq declares the decrees illegitimate and a pro-Mosaddeq military unit arrests the commander and several officers of the Imperial Guard. Mosaddeq declares that the "coup attempt" against him has failed.

August 16: The Shah, fearing for his life, flees Iran with his wife. First to Baghdad, then to Rome.

August 16-19: Chaos breaks out on the streets with both pro-Shah and pro-Mosaddeq protestors. General Zahedi publicly declares he is the legitimate prime minister. Mosaddeq publicly declares he is the legitimate prime minister.

August 19: Pro-Shah military forces clash with pro-Mosaddeq military outside of Mosaddeq's residence. About 300 soldiers are killed. The battle ends with Mosaddeq's arrest in his home.

August 22: The Shah returns to Tehran.

December 1953: Mosaddeq is tried at a military tribunal and found guilty of treason. He is sentenced to three years in prison and lifetime house arrest.

Despite what the History Channel and the left-wing narrators say, the 1906 Constitution established Iran as a constitutional monarchy and the Shah had significant executive powers, including the ability to dismiss the Prime Minister. When the Shah signed his decree to dismiss Mosaddeq, he was acting within his constitutional powers.