The 

Iran hostage crisis

The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic standoff between Iran and the United States. Fifty-two
American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to
January 20, 1981 after a group of Iranian students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the
Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.[3] It
stands as the longest hostage crisis in recorded history.[4]
The crisis was described by the Western media as an “entanglement” of “vengeance and mutual
incomprehension.”[5] President Jimmy Carter called the hostages “victims of terrorism and anarchy”
and said, “The United States will not yield to blackmail.” [6] In Iran, it was widely seen as a blow
against the United States and its influence in Iran, including its perceived attempts to undermine the
Iranian Revolution and its longstanding support of the recently overthrown Shah of Iran, Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi, who had led an autocratic regime.
After his overthrow in 1979, the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was purportedly admitted to the
United States for cancer treatment. Iran demanded that he be returned to stand trial for crimes he
was accused of committing during his reign. Specifically, Pahlavi was accused of committing crimes
against Iranian citizens with the help of his secret police, the SAVAK. Iranians saw the decision to
grant him asylum as American complicity in those atrocities. The Americans saw the hostage-taking
as an egregious violation of the principles of international law, which granted diplomats immunity
from arrest and made diplomatic compounds inviolable.[7][8][9][10]
The crisis reached a climax when, after failed efforts to negotiate the hostages’ release, the United
States military attempted a rescue operation using ships, including the USS Nimitz and USS Coral
Sea, that were patrolling the waters near Iran. On April 24, 1980, the attempt, known as Operation
Eagle Claw, failed, resulting in the deaths of eight American servicemen and one Iranian civilian, as
well as the destruction of two aircraft.
Shah Pahlavi left the United States in December 1979 and was ultimately granted asylum in Egypt,
where he died from complications of cancer on July 27, 1980. In September 1980, the Iraqi
military invaded Iran, beginning the Iran–Iraq War. These events led the Iranian government to enter
negotiations with the U.S., with Algeria acting as a mediator. The hostages were formally released
into United States custody the day after the signing of the Algiers Accords, just minutes after the new
American president, Ronald Reagan, was sworn into office.
The crisis is considered a pivotal episode in the history of Iran–United States relations.[11] Political
analysts cite it as a major factor in the trajectory of Jimmy Carter’s presidency and his loss in
the 1980 presidential election.[12] In Iran, the crisis strengthened the prestige of Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini and the political power of theocrats who opposed any normalization of relations with the
West.[13] The crisis also led to the United States’ economic sanctions against Iran, further weakening
ties between the two countries.[14]