Iran Hostage Crisis

Background The U.S. had essentially put Reza Shah Pahlavi (known simply as “The Shah”) in charge of Iran in 1953 The Shah was unpopular with radical Muslims in Iran – We put him in power, so these Iranians also didn’t like us

Iranian Revolution Tension between the Shah and the radical Muslims in Iran continued to grow In 1979, large protests by radical Muslims drove the Shah into exile – Fleeing a country to seek safety – Shah sought asylum in the U.S. Protection granted to someone who has left their native country for political reasons Radical Muslims placed Ayatollah Khomeini (simply known as “the Ayatollah”) in charge – An ultra-radical Muslim

How radical was/is Iran? Mass executions of political opponents Death penalty for – Drug offenses – Adultery – Rape – Drinking alcohol – Homosexuality – Children under the age of 18 who commit these crimes A woman’s testimony in court is not considered as trustworthy as a man’s

Hostage Crisis Iranians wanted the Shah to return to face a trial – The U.S. said no Hundreds of students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran (capital of Iran) and took 52 hostages – Violation of international law – Video

Rescue Attempt After months of failed negotiations, President Carter ordered a risky rescue attempt Attempt failed miserably – 3 helicopters malfunctioned shortly after take-off – One helicopter and one plan collided and crashed killing 8 Americans

Release After 444 days in captivity, the Ayatollah decided to release the hostages – Didn’t see anything left to gain from keeping them – Waited until minutes after Ronald Regan was sworn in to office

Impact Hostage crisis was yet another “black spot” on President Carter’s reputation – Another contributing factor to his humiliating defeat to Ronald Regan in 1980 Relations between the U.S. and Iran have remained hostile ever since – Iran included in Bush’s “Axis of Evil” speech – U.S. has been accusing Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons

Quick Review 1.Why did radical Muslims in Iran hate the United States? – We supported the Shah (who they didn’t like) 2.Why did Iranian students storm the U.S. embassy and take hostages – They wanted the U.S. to return the Shah to Iran 3.How do we still feel/see the effects of the Iran Hostage Crisis today? – Relations between our two countries is still hostile