Great Satan

The Great Satan (Persian: شيطان بزرگ‎‎; Shaytân-e Bozorg) is a derogatory epithet for the United States of America in some Iranian foreign policy statements. Occasionally, these words have also been used toward the government of the United Kingdom.

The term was originally used by Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini in his speech on November 5, 1979 to describe the United States, which he accused of imperialism and the sponsoring of corruption throughout the world. The speech occurred one day after the onset of the Iran hostage crisis.

Ayatollah Khomeini also occasionally used the term "Iblis" (the primary devil in Islam) to refer to the United States and other Western countries.

The post-revolution government of Iran has regarded the United States and the United Kingdom as Imperialist states, who have a long history of interfering in Iran's internal affairs. In 1907, an Anglo-Russian agreement between Russia and Britain divided Iran into spheres of influence, calling into question , although not terminating, Iran's sovereignty. In 1953, during the Cold War, British intelligence officials and the administration of the U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower planned a joint Anglo-American operation to overthrow the elected prime minister, Mohammad Mossadeq. The Eisenhower administration was concerned that Mossadeq's nationalist aspirations could lead to an eventual communist takeover of Iran. The operation was code-named Operation Ajax. At first, the military coup seemed to fail, and Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi fled the country. After widespread rioting and with help from the CIA and British intelligence services, Mossadeq was defeated and the Shah returned to power, ensuring support for Western (chiefly British) oil interests and ending the perceived threat of communist expansion. General Fazlollah Zahedi, who led the military coup, became prime minister.

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