The Iran hostage crisis began on November 4, 1979. It consisted of 300 to 500 Iranians barging into the American Embassy in Teheran, Iran, snatching 66 citizens and holding them hostage. Although, the women and the African Americans were released, there were still 51 people being held hostage, and weren't released until 444 days later.
In 1953, the prime minister of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was elected to become Iran's monarch, shah. The CIA came up with this and called in "Operation Ajax." In agreement, the U.S. would help aid Iran's military and their economy, and from Iran, a supply of oil to the U.S. Over the next few years Pahlavi made some bad choices like, promising personal freedoms and what not, none of that ever happened. The Iran people were beginning to become upset. In 1979 people became so mad that Pahlavi was forced to give up his position of shah and leave Iran.
(Mohammed Reza Pahlavi)
(Ayatollah Khomeini)
The new leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, became completely against the American government because of what had happened in previous years. Although, when he became diagnosed with lymphoma, he wanted to be treated by American doctors, and sure enough that's what happened. At that point, the Iran people were so furious that the incident in the American Embassy took place.
Jimmy Carter was president when this all took place. When he found out what had happened he canceled all oil imports to the U,S,, made many Iranians leave the U.S., and stopped about $8 billion of Iran assets. In the beginning Iran's government denied the whole thing.
President Carter arranged a mission to get the hostages out of Iran, "Eagle Claw." The operation failed. The election between Reagan and Carter was taking place at this time. Ronald Reagan won the election over Carter, probably because of Carter's failure to bring the hostages back home. After a few minutes of Reagan becoming president, the hostages were released from Iranian control.
I feel that the Iranians should have just stopped at throwing Pahlavi out of his position of shah and not taken the Americans. I feel really bad for the families of the hostages, I don't know what I'd do if i was without a family member for that long.
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