Imam Khomeini in a historic address denounced the 1953 coup against the then elected Iranian government.
The United States had once again imposed the Shāh through a military coup and in the name of modernization of the country created the American-led Shāh’s revolution whose result as we witnessed was in the interest of the United States and the destruction of Iran. Iran’s agriculture was annihilated and Iran was turned into a market for the consumption of American foodstuff. The underground reserves from oil to copper and other resources were, and are, all plundered to the advantage of the United States and in lieu of them such weapons were given to our country that are not useful for us. Another impediment of the coup was the imposition of more than forty thousand American military advisors on our country. Besides gigantic expenditures, they have undermined the dignity of our army, have vested the destiny of the entire country in their hands and through this very Shāh, Iran has become a military base for the United States and with the wealth of the very Iranian nation has turned the Shāh into a gendarme of the region and the Persian Gulf. These are but some parts of the atrocities committed by the Shāh against our nation.
Sahifeh-ye-Imam. V. 5, P. 78
We are not afraid of a military coup d’état. The Iranian nation has become accustomed to military coup d’états. We have had coup d’états for the last fifty years: Ridā Khān’s coup d’état and Muhammad Ridā’s coup d’état. We have become used to the coercive measures they employ. We fear no coup d’états. I am surprised that while we wish to rescue the armed forces from the evil of colonialism, some high-ranking officers want to remain as its servants. In principle, the armed forces are with us. In brief, we are not afraid of any coup d’états because the Iranian nation will continue the uprising and the movement until the end. The Iranian nation will not desist from carrying on the movement until the ultimate victory is achieved.
Sahifeh-ye-Imam. V. 6. P. 3-4