Iranian students, followers of Ayatollah Khomeini, attacked and seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, holding over 50 Americans hostage for 444 days in the Iran Hostage Crisis, demanding the return of the deposed Shah for trial. This was the second takeover of the embassy that year, occurring in the context of the Iranian Revolution and anti-American sentiment after the U.S. granted asylum to the Shah.
Hostage-takers
At 11.30am on 30 April 1980, six armed members of the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan (DRFLA) stormed the Iranian Embassy on Princes Gate in South Kensington, London, taking 26 people hostage.
On November 4, 1979, Iranian students seized the embassy and detained more than 50 Americans, ranging from the Chargé d'Affaires to the most junior members of the staff, as hostages. The Iranians held the American diplomats hostage for 444 days.
TIL about Operation Nimrod, where the British SAS conducted a daring raid on the Iranian Embassy in London to rescue hostages. Six armed revolutionaries stormed the embassy and took 26 people hostage, resulting in a 6 day siege. 19 hostages were rescued and the raid was broadcasted live.
The embassy take-over was aimed at strengthening the new regime against liberal elements in the government, portraying the regime as a "revolutionary force" while winning over the major following that the People's Mojahedin of Iran had amongst students in Iran.
Forty-five years ago today, followers of Ayatollah Khomeini stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking American diplomats hostage for 444 days. We will never forget both the service of the brave American diplomats held in Tehran and the abhorrent treatment that they were subjected to by the Iranian regime.
During the flight, two helicopters aborted because of flight instrument and mechanical problems while the pilot of a third helicopter decided to continue on to Desert One despite hydraulic problems.
Lieutenant-Colonel 'Paddy' Mayne is a legendary figure in the history of the Special Forces. A celebrated sportsman with a turbulent character, he played a vital role in the early successes of the Special Air Service (SAS), becoming one of its most important commanders.
John Thomas McAleese MM was a brave and courageous SAS soldier who served with distinction. He was a Lance Corporal in 1980, serving in Pagoda Troop, 'B' Squadron, 22 SAS Regiment, where he led "Blue Team" in the storming of the Iranian Embassy in London during a hostage siege on 5 May 1980.
No U.S. embassy in Iran
The U.S. government does not have diplomatic or consular relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Swiss government, acting through its Embassy in Tehran, serves as the protecting power for United States interests in Iran.
The Shah's entry into the U.S. for medical treatment angered the new Iranian government led by Ayatollah Khomeini. The U.S. refusal to return the Shah and anti-American sentiment in Iran led to the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the taking of 52 American hostages.
Iran is not known to currently possess weapons of mass destruction and has signed treaties repudiating the development and possession of WMD including the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Biological Weapons Convention, Chemical Weapons Convention, and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
Nine caskets were made, with Ayatollah Sadegh Khalkhali alleging that nine Americans were killed. The American bodies, which were acknowledged to have been numbered at eight, were returned to the United States on 6 May 1980, and buried at various locations across the country.
Trevor was best known as a hero of the Iranian Embassy armed siege in 1980. As a serving Police Officer attached to the diplomatic protection squad, PC Lock was on duty at the Embassy when six dissident gunmen took over the building, holding 26 hostages including Trevor.
Toa Fraser's second English-set film (following 2008's quirky drama Dean Spanley) dramatises a real life siege at the Iranian Embassy in London, when gunmen held 26 people hostage in April 1980.
He served in the SBS, the naval wing of the special forces, the Royal Marines and 9 Parachute Squadron Royal, achieving what is known as the 'Holy Trinity' of the UK's Elite Forces. As a point man in the SBS, Ant was always the first man through the door, the first man into the dark, and the first man in harm's way.
During the period of its deployment 580 men served in the SASR in Vietnam. The remains of the last Australian soldier who went missing in action in 1969 after falling into the jungle during a suspended rope extraction were found in August 2008.
Neither SAS nor SBS is definitively "more elite"; they are equally elite but specialized, with the SAS focusing on land/air and the SBS on maritime/amphibious roles, both part of the UK's UK Special Forces (UKSF) and sharing the same rigorous Joint Special Forces Selection process, with SBS adding extra maritime training like swimmer-canoeist skills. Think of them as the Army's and Navy's top-tier counterparts within the same elite special forces framework.
Everyone, from the most junior staff members to the person in charge of the embassy, were taken and held in captivity for 444 days. Closely following the crisis for over a year, the public wanted to show their support for the hostages and their families. Yellow ribbons became the symbol of hope for their safe return.
The Foreign Office rejected Arab mediation, asserting British sovereignty, while Iran's government dismissed the gunmen as “mercenaries.” Meanwhile, the SAS's B Squadron, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Rose, mobilized from Hereford, training in a mock-up embassy for a potential assault codenamed Operation Nimrod.
An agreement having been made, the hostages were released on January 20, 1981, minutes after the inauguration of the new U.S. president, Ronald Reagan.
They decided to smuggle the six Americans out of Iran on an international flight by using Canadian passports for them. To do so, an Order in Council was made to issue official multiple copies of Canadian passports, with various fake identities, to the American diplomats in Canadian sanctuary.
At 17, Sergeant Major Mike Vining enlisted in the US Army determined to become an explosive ordinance disposal tech. He graduated from EOD training in 1969 and volunteered to serve in Vietnam. In 19seventy, Vining helped destroy the largest enemy weapons cash of the Vietnam War, Rock Island East.
On April 24, 1980, an ill-fated military operation to rescue the 66 American hostages held in Tehran ended with eight U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages rescued.