1953 coup In 1953, Ashraf Pahlavi played an important role in
Operation Ajax as the one who changed Mohammad Reza Shah's mind in giving consent to the
CIA and
SIS to start the operation. The Shah had originally opposed the operation and for a while resisted accepting it. In early 1953, she met with CIA agents who asked her to talk to her brother since she was the only one who was able to influence him. As historian
Stephen Kinzer's book ''All the Shah's Men'' recounts, "Ashraf was enjoying life in French casinos and nightclubs when one of
Kermit Roosevelt's best Iranian agents,
Assadollah Rashidian, paid her a call. He found her reluctant, so the next day a delegation of American and British agents came to pose the invitation in stronger terms. The leader of the delegation, a senior British operative named Norman Darbyshire, had the foresight to bring a mink coat and a packet of cash. When Ashraf saw these emoluments, Darbyshire later recalled, "her eyes lit up and her resistance crumbled". By her own account, Pahlavi was offered a blank check if she agreed to return to Iran from her enforced exile in France, but refused the money and returned of her own accord. Some historians argue that the coup would have occurred with or without Ashraf Pahlavi's persuasion of her brother. In an
International Journal of Middle East Studies article, writer Mark Gasiorowski states that the Shah "was not consulted about the decision to undertake the coup, about its manner of execution, or about the candidate chosen to replace
Mosaddegh" and that the coup was instead largely executed by the United States and others looking to undermine Mosaddegh's leadership.
Political activities Ashraf Pahlavi was a strong supporter of
women's rights in Iran and the world during her brother's reign. In 1967, Pahlavi worked with the
United Nations as the Iranian delegate to
the Commission on Human Rights as well as
the Economic and Social Council. In 1975, she was heavily involved with the
International Women's Year, and addressed the United Nations. and was not a radical reformist. She cited "chronic apathy" In her 1980 memoirs, Pahlavi acknowledges the poor conditions of women in Iran and expresses concern, as she writes, "the news of what was happening to Iran's women was extremely painful...[they] were segregated and relegated to second-class status...many were imprisoned or exiled". in
Niavaran Palace Additionally, Pahlavi worked as an activist for human rights and equality. She was an advocate for the international spread of literacy, especially in Iran, where her brother Mohammad Reza Shah was a major proponent of the anti-illiteracy movement. She served as a member on the International Consultative Liaison Committee for Literacy. After the 1979 revolution, Ashraf Pahlavi asked
David Rockefeller to support her brother Mohammad Reza's attempts to find asylum. She also attacked
U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the
United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim for not giving their support to her late brother, the Shah, during the beginnings of the revolution. ==Character and finance==