Iran Hostage Crisis puts America on Edge The dreadful day that was November 4, 1979 will go down in history for centuries to come for many reasons. In 1979, the U.S. embassy was attacked and 66 people were taken hostage by citizens of Iran.the hostages were kept for about a year and a half. Some of the hostages were released early because they were believed to not be a threat. Then the remaining were released by the Iranians after multiple, failed rescue attempts by the U.S. The causes, the events, and the aftermath will be remembered for a long time. Before the hostages were taken, there was already a lot of tension between the U.S. and Iran(HIstory). Their prime minister at the time was Muhammad Mossadegh(History). Mohammad wanted to nationalize their oil industry, which the UK and the US were in charge of running(History). This would have severely damaged their economy at the time because of how large the demand of oil was. To try and defend themselves the US and the UK set up a plan to overthrow the prime minister, which resulted in success(History). They replaced him with a new leader who, for sake of time, was called Shah(History). He turned out to be a …show more content…
After a small portion of time, 13 hostages were released (most were women, African-Americans, or people who weren’t from the US) because they were believed to not be a threat to the captors(Britannica). Another hostage was released a little while later due to health problems(Britannica). The US initiated a rescue attempt in 1980 but had to retreat because of a desert storm that was causing helicopters to malfunction which lead to 8 of the men being killed in a crash(Britannica). The rescue attempt was known as a secret code name, Operation Eagle Claw(History). With the election coming up, this unresolved issue is not helping current president, Jimmy Carter’s,
Kinzer tells us that the Iranians celebrated their nationalism in taking control of their oil, but their success was a shock to the British multinational companies in Iran. They did not like the idea of Iran nationalization, so they plan a coup to overthrow the Prime Minister Mossadegh. But this plan failed and the British were disarmed and sent back to their country closing down their embassy in Iran. The British tried to present their case to the United State in a way that the United State would intervene. So they presented a case that Mossaghe is not only nationalizing the Iranians oil, he is also leading Iran into communism. This case stirred the American action and they feared if they assassinate Mossaghe, his seat will be open and communist ...
In the novel All The Shah’s Men we are introduced to Iran, and the many struggles and hardships associated with the history of this troubled country. The Iranian coup is discussed in depth throughout the novel, and whether the Untied States made the right decision to enter into Iran and provide assistance with the British. If I were to travel back to 1952 and take a position in the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) for the sole purpose of examining the American Foreign Intelligence, I would have to conclude that the United States should have examined their options more thoroughly, and decided not to intervene with Iran and Mossadegh. I have taken this position after great analysis, which is something that Eisenhower and his staff never did. By discussing the history of Iran, the Anglo-Iranian oil company, and Document NSC-68 I will try to prove once and for all that going through with the coup in Iran was a terrible mistake made by the United States.
For decades, U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East had depended on a friendly government in Iran. The newly appointed leader, the shah of Iran, began Westernizing the country and taking away power from the Ayatollah, powerful religious leaders. The United States poured millions of dollars into Iran’s economy and the shah’s armed forces, overlooking the rampant corruption in government and well-organized opposition. By early 1979, the Ayatollah had murdered the Shah and taken back power of the government. A group of students who took the American embassy hostage on November 4th, 1979, turned the embassy over to the religious leaders. Carter knew he must take action in order to regain the American embassy and the hostages, but with all of the military cutbacks, the rescue attempt was a complete failure and embarrassment. It took the United States 444 days to rescue the hostages. This was the final straw for many Americans, and enough to push them to the “right” side of the political spectrum, Republican.
The movie Argo tells the true-life story of six Americans rescued from Tehran, Iran. The rescue came after the 1979 takeover of the United States Embassy. Iranians were upset because the United States had given asylum to the Shah. Iranian students protested outside the U.S Embassy demanding the United States extradite the Shah back to Iran. Because the U.S. did not comply with their demands, the protestors stormed the U.S. Embassy and captured the Americans inside. Six Americans escaped to the streets and wound up at the Canadian Ambassador’s home for safety.
In 1985, the Administration initiated a secret "arms-for-hostages" operation designed to free seven Americans held hostage by terrorists in Lebanon. Reagan had said he would never deal with supporters of terrorists, which he considered Iran's leaders to be. But he and his advisers believed Iran could get the hostages released. Members of the Administration arranged for the CIA to secretly purchase arms from the Department of Defense. Private individuals bought the arms from the CIA and sold them to Iran in return for its promises of help in the hostage release. But the sales led to the release of only three hostages, and three more Americans were taken hostage during the same period. Administration agents secretly diverted (transferred) profits from the arms sales to the contras.
“It was raining moderately at the time. We were taken back to the compound, being pushed and hurried along the way and forced to put our hands above our heads and then marched to the Embassy residence. After arriving at the residence I had my hands tied behind my back so tightly with nylon cord that circulation was cut off.” This is an actual diary entry from an Iranian hostage, Robert Odee. The hostages were held captive for 444 days. They were held captive by Iranian students.
"It was like throwing a burning branch into a bucket of Kerosene-Anti American sentiment in Iran exploded", as one America Leader said when the Shah came to the United States. The tension between the United States and Iran initiated in the premature stage of the Shah's rule. The Iranian Hostage Crisis was the fuse that ignited the apprehension between America and Iran. The Iranian Hostage Crisis was significant because it caused the American government irrevocably weakened the United States relationship with Iran and how United States deals with other countries affairs.
On May 5th, 1980 the world was watching as the SAS was about to perform a life-taking raid on the Iranian Embassy in London against a six-man team known as the 'Democratic Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Arabistan' (DRMLA for short) (Barnes). The goal of this team or terrorist association was to draw attention to its demands for the self-determination of the Arab population of Khuzestan. The SAS had gotten into the Embassy by rappelling from the top of the roof into the windows of the Embassy. Surprisingly, the raid had only lasted nearly seventeen minutes long. The raid was a huge success for the rescuing of nineteen of the twenty hostages with all but perfect military performance, although two soldiers were killed by the terrorist’s. In fact, Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister of London at the time, had stated that it was “a brilliant operation” (Barnes).
Iran is the only country in the world to have completely and truly succeeded in creating an islamic state using political Islam. The modern western tendency to separate church and state is frowned upon there, Islam is believed to be an integral part of politics, a way of life. This is evident through the 1979 Iranian revolution and institution of the Ayatollah Khomeini.
Rising tensions in the Middle East lead to perhaps the most infamous event during President Jimmy Carter’s administration: the Iran Hostage Crisis. During November of 1979, Iranian university students with growing anti-United States sentiment stormed the United States embassy in Tehran, capturing and holding 60 Americans hostage for 444 days. Though Carter issued a risky military operation with intent to send an elite rescue team into the compound in April of 1980 (often referred to as Operation Eagle Claw), the mission failed and resulted in the death of eight American servicemen when sandstorms compromised helicopters, resulting in one of the helicopters to crash into another aircraft during take-off. The incident proved disastrous for Carter
Watson, Stephanie. "Iranian Hostage Crisis." Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence and Security. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 158-60. U.S. History in Context. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
The Iran Hostage Crisis was a dangerous time period for Americans and held lots of events in it. It took place on November 4, 1997. The location was in Tehran, Iran. The main place things happened was in the embassy. One of the main issues was with the president. That didn’t stop the Americans from being angry and face Moorhead Kennedy. President Carter knew the country was in serious danger. This event in history happen 39 years ago. It was between Iran and the united states. The group mostly consisted of young students. On November 4, 1979 President Cater got a call that 50 to 60 americans had been captured and taken to Iran. There was a total of 500 Iranian students at one point on the street and shouting as if they were celabrating something special. It was not goood shouting, it contained nasty/foul words. Many Iranian students wanted America to fail and many wanted Carter gone. The main cause to this was that President Carter let Iran’s Shah come to the united States for medical help. Americans beleived that letting Shah in was the worst decision because of what he was called. This event led up to the Iran
Following the 2009 Iranian election, the government of Iran said that they won. However, the Iranian people seem to have a very different view of who won and have went to the streets to protest. Instead of providing the evidence of the win, the Iran government is flat out fighting its own people in defiance. The government needs to listen to its own people and accept that it is time for change. But of course they won’t. They even justify murder in order to keep their own power. Dictatorship sticks personal army on them, beating, shooting and arresting political prisoners. They would shut down all foreign media, trying to control all media and information getting out of the country. And the government also can try to control protesters getting information to each other. But Iranians can get around censors through use of internet, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Dictatorships have gotten away with this before, but can't because people can document human rights abuses with the use of cellphones and computers and laptops, exposing the corruption and abuse of the Iranian government - everyone is a journalist. And the rest of the world who is also connected via TV, internet etc. can know all about it (Allen). We should care about Iran because religious expressions, women rights, beatings and torture is happening all the time in Iran.
Iran lost the support of the US in 1979 after the hostage crisis in Tehran, Iran. In Tehran, “66 members of the US embassy staff were taken hostage by Khomeini’s supporters” (Steele 12). The hostages were held for 444 days (Steele 12). The aftermath of the crisis was the international isolation of Iran. The US being a superpower, drove similar responses in its allies. Iran had lost a majority of their allies, which would hurt them during the war. In addition to the loss of the support of the Western countries, the Arab countries were also against Iran and supporting Iraq. The Arab countries also shared Iraq’s trepidations about the Iranian rhetoric of “exporting Islamic Revolution” (Karsh). As reported by graduate Mr. Jacek, Iran was left to defend itself economically and militarily. The other superpower at the time, the Soviet Union, had a positive relationship with Iran in the beginning. The Soviet Union had been supporting Iran in the beginning of the war. The Soviet Union then carried out an invasion of Afghanistan, and Tehran opposed the Soviet role in the invasion of Afghanistan. Iran’s relations with the Soviet Union became problematic, which negatively affected Iran (Karsh). The war with Iraq slowed down Iran’s research. Near the end of the Iran – Iraq War, Iran started working with a rogue nation, North Korea. The countries partnered up to work
Iran is the top country in the world to sponsor terrorism (Phillips). According to United Nations (UN), Iran is the 13th largest country out of 193 countries with a population estimated of 69,515,000 in 2005 (“Iran”). Terrorism is an issue that affects everyone around the globe, whether the country participates or is merely collateral damage. By the FBI, terrorism is defined as any “violent acts…that violate state or federal law…intended to intimidate…the civilian population [or] to influence the policy of a government…by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping…that generally transcend national boundaries” (“Terrorism”). Some of the other nations that are most affected by terrorism included Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Sudan,