Tasnim – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif marked the anniversary of the nationalization of the oil industry back in 1951 and said that as in the past, the people of the country will never allow “others to decide their fate”.

“This isn't the first time that #Iran has been targeted for exercising its right to decide its own destiny: 68 yrs ago today, parliament under democratically-elected PM Mossadeq nationalized our oil industry. A coup followed,” Zarif said on his Twitter account on Wednesday.

“Iranians will never allow others to decide their fate,” the Iranian top diplomat added in his tweet.

The nationalization of the Iranian oil industry resulted from a movement in the Iranian parliament to seize control of Iran's oil industry, which had been run by private companies, largely controlled by foreign interests.

A legislation, which was verified by the parliament on March 17, 1951, led to the nationalization of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (AIOC). The movement was led by Mohammad Mosaddeq, a member of the parliament’s National Front and future prime minister of Iran.