In Meshed, Iran, Naifeh worked as assistant to the American consul. All Americans were ordered to leave the city in 1952, due to the political turmoil that resulted a year later in the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. Marion and George Naifeh moved to the capital city of Tehran, where she worked in the visa section and he served as the radio officer. Before Mossadegh was ultimately overthrown, the Naifehs left for Baghdad, Iraq, where they served in The American Friends of the Middle East, an organization founded by journalist Dorothy Thompson.