![]() ![]() This is because Mossadegh is still very "alive politically" in Iran, Daftary says. The game's art director, ValaNejad, born in 1966 in Tehran to an Iranian father and an American mother, says every popular protest in Iranian history, including the mass protests against Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad that began in June 2009, served as an "inspiration for a project like this." This resentment, coupled with the repressive rule of the shah, helped to set the stage for the later rise of hard-line religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, who came to power in a 1979 revolution that led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The event left many Iranians disillusioned by what they saw as the duplicity of the West. The coup d'etat, code-named "Operation Ajax," brought Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi to power and made Mossadegh a prisoner in his own country for life. The move, part of a larger strategic shift in Cold War politics, was triggered by Mossadegh's demand to nationalize Iran's oil industry and wrest it from British control. The removal of Mossadegh, then a hugely popular leader in Iran, was a covert operation by United States and Britain. His charisma was such that "Time" magazine featured him as its "Man of the Year" in 1951, just two years before the CIA helped orchestrate a coup that saw his overthrow. He remains a towering figure among Iranians, however, and many of Mossadegh's supporters count themselves among the Iranian opposition today. Most Americans know little about Mossadegh, who served as prime minister of Iran from 1951-53. Ousted Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh during one of his frequent interruptions of court proceedings in Tehran's military tribunal on November 20, 1953.īut he welcomes the "spirit" behind the new video game, saying he hopes it will give Mossadegh's legacy "some kind of universality" because it "should be universal and is not," given that the former prime minister is still largely unknown outside Iran. ![]() When he used to play chess with Mossadegh, his grandfather, he says, "I often resigned." Hedayat Matine-Daftary, a 77-year-old lawyer, is not much of a game enthusiast. effort to "give people in the Middle East democracy." Mossadegh's role in Iran, Brinson says, showed him "this isn't a new idea" in the region. military presence in Afghanistan, Brinson says project is a response to U.S. Released days ahead of a keenly awaited speech by U.S. "At a time when the entire region is overthrowing that old order," Amrani writes in an e-mail interview, "this game is very well-timed." When you play the game, Brinson says, "you ask yourself - both Iranians and Americans can ask themselves: Am I Mossadegh's friend, or am I his foe?"Įgyptian writer Issandr El Amrani of the popular blog praises the game as a "great idea" that will engage people on what he calls "the darker parts of Middle East history," particularly "the negative role Western powers played in helping dictatorships maintain control because of oil or other strategic interests." "I knew early on that it needed an interesting premise, and that's where the cat comes in," he says, explaining that he chose a cat because of its incalculable nature. WATCH: The guys behind the game walk you through their creationīrinson says he was originally inspired by the challenge of making a conflict-focused game that engaged users without glorifying warfare. ![]()
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