What happened during the Iran Hostage Crisis?
One month before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the new rulers in Iran had seized the American embassy in 1979 and taken American hostages. Iran had been ruled from 1941 to 1979 by one of the America’s most loyal third world allies, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi. The interruption came in 1953 when the Shah was forced into exile as Iranian nationalists seized power. However, covert efforts by the US (CIA) managed to return the Shah to power. Over time the corruption and repression of the Shah’s rule reached the point where he became dependent upon the military and his ruthless secret police, the SAVAK, to stay in power. Carter’s administration was caught off guard by the Shah’s rapidly mounting political troubles. Carter unsuccessfully urged him to negotiate with his opponent. Ayatollah Khomeini at first weighed allowing the Shah to come to the US for medical reasons but reconsidered due to fear of the reaction it might provoke in Iran. Over the objection of the US embassy in Iran, Carter agreed to let the Shah come to the US in order to receive potentially life-saving medical care. This angered Khomeini and the Iran revolutionaries. The US Embassy in Iran was seized and US diplomats were held, hostage. Demands were issued by Khomeini for the return of the Shah to Iran to stand trial. Carter’s handling of the fed a fervent election-year debate both about his stewardship of American foreign policy and the overall direction that it should take.
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