He was the agent who planned the Iranian coup: Who is the MI6 agent Norman Darbyshire?

It's rare to find spies who change the course of history, like the MI6 officer Norman Darbyshire. Although British interests were briefly restored in Iran after the 1953 coup, the Shah eventually became a doomed dictator and paved the way for the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since then, the hostility between Iran and the West has not ended.

Little is known about Darbyshire, who planned the coup and played a key role in its success, even though he was the person who ignited many great events.

Despite his young age, he was appointed head of the operation by MI6 due to his command of the Persian language and having stayed in Iran for nearly ten years. He had agents under his command from Darbyshire, operating in huts known as “harass” near Nicosia, organize street demonstrations. In this way, he would turn the momentum in favor of the Shah.

Norman Darbyshire (1924–1993) was a British spy who worked for the SOE and the MI6. He played a key role in the 1953 coup d'état that overthrew Mohammed Mossadegh, the democratically-elected prime minister of Iran.

The coup was hailed as a victory in London. Both the oil fields in Iran were partially taken back and the message was given that the country could still have an impact on the world after the British Empire. The establishment of Darbyshire at the pinnacle of British intelligence seemed certain, but personal tragedies derailed his life and career. He was not well known when he died in 1993. His leading role in one of the most important events in modern Iranian history is gaining new attention today.

According to Taghi Amirani, director of the documentary Coup 53 on the coup, “Darbyshire was one of the plotters of the coup and took charge of the operation. He was the one who did the work. While the CIA was intent on giving up after the failure of the first attempt on August 15, Darbyshire took the initiative and turned against those who objected and turned the tide in Britain's favor.

Handsome, courteous, and multilingual, the former special ops officer was the most James Bond-like person in MI6 history. This Bond had eight children.

Relatives and friends say in interviews that Darbyshire comes from a modest family in the North of England, yet feels comfortable and able to form friendships and alliances all over the world. They also talk about what it was like growing up as the child of a British super spy.

According to his daughter Leahy, Darbyshire “had a tremendous talent for language. He was fluent in French and Persian and also spoke German and Arabic. He had changed his accent because he was from the North, and he always spoke very clear English. He did everything by his effort. He had never left home at the age of 17 and never looked back.”

The children grew up in Tehran, Beirut, Nicosia, Geneva, and London.

Each of the children realized at different times that their father was no ordinary diplomat. The third child, Nicholas, understood this fact when the family lived in Beirut.

“I opened the drawer. I saw four passports. They all had a picture of my father, but each had different names,” she says.

In those days it was customary for MI6 officers to be graduates of private schools and Oxbridge. Darbyshire was the son of a greengrocer from Wigan. After the war, he enlisted and was accepted into the Special Operations Unit SOE, the predecessor of the SAS. After training in Scotland, he was sent to Iran in 1943. In those days, the country was under the occupation of both Britain and the Soviet Union in order not to bring the Germans closer to the oil fields and to keep the supply lines open to the eastern front.

During his first three and a half years as a soldier in Tehran, Darbyshire, he made contact with many people and developed his command of the language.

The operation began when the British were expelled.

After Mossadegh became prime minister in 1951, his ticket was cut off by the British government when he nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and expelled British diplomats the following year.

Darbyshire and a deputy were tasked with planning the overthrow of the prime minister. The code name of the plan was "Operation Boot". After Dwight Eisenhower became president of the USA when the Americans joined the team in the spring of 1953, the name of the plan was changed to "Operation Ajax", but its content remained largely the same. In the center were the Shah and Rashidian brothers.

Order from Washington

When the coup began on August 15, things suddenly went wrong. Some names in the army either did not participate in the coup or pretended to be sick. As the Shah panicked and fled to Baghdad in a small plane, Washington received a signal to abandon the plan.

They persuaded the officers

But the Darbyshire and Rashidian brothers refused to give up and filled the streets of Tehran with mercenary bandits. He unleashed these men on supporters of Mossadegh and his communist allies in the Tudeh party. This move was enough to convince the officers who were hesitant to join the Shah.

Thanks to the coup, Darbyshire became MI6's golden boy. Even after ten years, it had not lost anything of its popularity. He was also in Tehran, the bridge between England and the Shah, and living a good life in a big house north of the capital. But the whole life of the family would be shattered.

In November 1964, Darbyshire was driving a British intelligence officer who came to see him to inspect an electronic listening post near the Soviet border. He took his wife Manon with them on this beautiful journey from the Elbrus Mountains to the Caspian Sea.

On the way back on November 13, the vehicle skidded on a mountain pass and flew into the valley. The London guest died at the crash site. Manon, on the other hand, was taken to the road on a stretcher but died there.

Darbyshire at the wheel was unharmed but nearly died of a cerebral hemorrhage 13 months later.

The second wedding was held by the secret agency.

He started dating a young woman named Virginia Fell from the Darbyshire embassy's intelligence department. They got married in April 1966. MI6 paid for the wedding at the embassy.

The new 22-year-old Mrs. Darbyshire suddenly found herself a stepmother to six children. She also had two daughters with Norman. Beginning in 1970, she began to have difficulties in being a mother in the increasingly uncanny environment of Beirut. A large armed guard was sleeping in front of their door.

The Islamic Revolution killed its connections

He was thinking of going into business in the Middle East, but the Iranian Islamic Revolution ruined these plans. Many of his contacts have been killed, imprisoned, or disappeared.

“He expected a very flamboyant life after retirement, but it didn't happen,” says his son Peter.

Darbyshire died in 1993 of a heart attack while mowing the lawn at his home. The funeral at Harrogate Crematorium was one of the rare moments when her eight children came together. Boswell and a few other friends were there, but no one from the MI6 days.