Iran Hostage Crisis

IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS

IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS. On 4 November 1979, Islamic militants overran the American embassy in Teheran, Iran, initiating a crisis that lasted through the end of President Jimmy Carter's term. The militants held fifty-two of the embassy's personnel hostage for 444 days. Relations between the United States and Iran began to disintegrate in early 1979, during the Iranian revolution. Following the overthrow of the U.S. ally Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi, the new government, led by the Muslim fundamentalist Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, focused much of its fervor against the United States, culminating with the embassy takeover following Carter's decision to allow the shah to enter the United States for cancer treatment. The United States attempted to pursue political, diplomatic, and economic measures to broker the release of the hostages. Carter also organized a military contingency plan in the event that nonmilitary solutions failed.

The White House attempted several failed diplomatic initiatives and mounted a campaign of international pressure on Iran, which brought condemnations from governments around the world. The sole successful diplomatic measure was an initiative from Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) representatives that gained the release of thirteen female and African American hostages. Carter also signed an order to freeze all of Iran's assets in American banks.

Despite continued pressure on Iran, the hostages remained in captivity five months after the crisis began, and pressure mounted on the Carter administration to find a more effective solution. After much deliberation, Carter authorized an ill-fated military mission to rescue the hostages. The 24 April 1979 rescue mission suffered from military miscalculations and untimely mechanical failures, forcing the mission to be aborted. The final mishap came during a refueling stop, when two of the helicopters collided, killing eight servicemen. When President Carter informed the nation of the mission and its failure, he suffered politically.

The failure of the rescue mission did not end negotiations, but the administration appeared to be paralyzed by the crisis. The Iranians released the hostages on 20 January 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan took the oath of office as president. U.S. relations with Iran did not return to their earlier cordial nature during the twentieth century. Presidents Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton faced a hostile Islamic state on the borders of the Persian Gulf.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carter, Jimmy. Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President. New York: Bantam, 1982.

Jordan, Hamilton. Crisis: The Last Year of the Carter Presidency. New York: Putnam, 1982.

Sick, Gary. All Fall Down: America's Tragic Encounter with Iran. New York: Random House, 1985.

Stephanie Wilson McConnell

See also Iran, Relations with ; and vol. 9: Interrogation of an Iran Hostage .