Three weeks after his return on July 16, 1952 [Wednesday 25 Tir 1331], Mossadegh held a private meeting with Mohammad Reza Shah that lasted around three hours. He explained to the Shah that in order to deal more effectively with the illegal activities of the domestic and foreign elements against his government, he needs to have more executive power. To this aim, he requested that he be trusted with the control of the armed forces, a role the Shah had kept for himself. According to the Constitution, a Prime Minister could also be Defense Minister, so the request was perfectly legal. The Shah refused, however, and Mossadegh in response immediately offered to resign, unless the Shah changed his mind by later that day. The same evening, Mossadegh formally submitted his resignation, shocking people around the country.

The following day, the Shah, at the behest of British and American governments, appointed the elderly politician Ghavam Saltaneh to the position of Prime Minister. Ghavam, fearing general strike and chaos, took a hard line and in a communiqué warned the nation that:

"The days of defiance have come to an end and the time for obedience to the will of the government has arrived."

Witnessing the depth of the people's support for Mossadegh, the Shah became highly alarmed and reversed course. Ghavam resigned and the Shah re-appointed Mossadegh as Prime Minister and gave him the Ministry of Defense, as Mossadegh had requested it five days earlier. Ironically, on the same day the International Court at the Hague voted in favor of Iran and against the British in their dispute. This was followed by the U.N. Security Council's rejection of the British claim. Mossadegh was at the height of his power and popularity, hailed as a hero not only in Iran, but in the greater Middle East.

Mossadegh never forgot the people who died on that bloody day. In his will, written in the final years of his life, Mossadegh specifically asked that he be buried in the cemetery belonging to the martyrs of 30 Tir. The Shah, by that time an absolute monarch installed and supported by the West, did not grant the request.

POSTSCRIPT:
On July 21, 2009, Iranians protesting the brutal Islamic Republic regime take to the streets to demonstrate on the anniversary of 30 Tir. Opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi's Facebook page endorses the symbolic protests.

The Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2009: "Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the central city of Shiraz, chanting anti-government slogans as Iranians prepared for another wave of demonstrations. Protests are likely on Tuesday, the anniversary of the day in 1952 when security forces refused to fire on massive nationwide street protests in support of nationalist hero Mohammed Mossadegh, who was overthrown from his prime minister's post the following year in a CIA-backed coup d'etat."