Oil Nationalisation Day

Oil Nationalisation Day marks Esfand 29, the 1951 parliamentary decision to nationalise Iran’s oil industry. The move, closely associated with Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, challenged the dominance of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and made control of natural resources a powerful symbol of national sovereignty.

The crisis that followed involved an international boycott, intense domestic conflict and the 1953 coup that removed Mosaddegh. That complicated history is precisely why the anniversary remains resonant: it connects economic policy, foreign influence and national self-determination. The statutory holiday records the nationalisation’s place in Iran’s modern political memory.

On March 15, 1951 the Majles voted to nationalise the oil industry, and the Senate followed; the Solar Hijri anniversary is marked on Esfand 29. Prime Minister Mosaddegh’s government then confronted Britain over implementation, culminating in a severe economic and political crisis. British and United States intelligence supported the 1953 coup against Mosaddegh, a documented intervention that remains central to Iranian memory. In Gregorian 2026 Esfand 29 is March 20, immediately before Farvardin 1 and the Nowruz holidays.