Iran hostage crisis
Tehran captivity standoff
The Iran hostage crisis was a 444-day standoff (1979–1981) in which Iranian revolutionaries held 52 American diplomats and citizens captive at the U.S.
Embassy in Tehran.
The crisis followed the Iranian Revolution and America's decision to admit the deposed Shah for medical treatment.
It dominated the final year of Jimmy Carter's presidency, contributed to his defeat by Ronald Reagan, and shaped U.S.-Iran relations for decades: The failed rescue attempt during the Iran hostage crisis was a defining moment of Carter's presidency.
- embassyOfficial diplomatic residence abroad
- IranIslamic republic in Asia
- Cold WarProlonged East-West standoff
- United StatesNorth American federal republic
- Jimmy CarterGeorgia governor turned president
seizure · Tehran · diplomats · detainment · confinement · abduction · militants · Ayatollah Khomeini · Delta Force · Ronald Reagan · Cold War tensions · national security · October surprise · Reagan · helicopters · geopolitical strategy · yellow ribbons · American politics
- 1980 highlightsPac-Man, Empire Strikes Back, Mount St. Helens, Moscow Olympics, Reagan
- 1980s AmericaRonald Reagan, Reagan, Iran-Contra, Contras, Sandinistas
- International CrisesBay of Pigs, nuclear standoff, persona non grata, diplomatic freeze, naval standoff
- Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter, peanut farmer, Camp David Accords, presidency, Rosalynn Carter
- Mideast PolicyCamp David, Oslo Accords, Iran Deal, Iraq War, Gulf War
- Cold WarBerlin Wall, Iron Curtain, arms race, Warsaw Pact, Eastern Bloc
Iran hostage crisisCamp David Accords
1978 peace framework
Oslo Accords · Paris Peace Accords · peace treaty · rapprochement · détente
crisis, hostage, crises, Iranian hostage crisis, hostages, Iranian, hostage-taking, hostage-taker, hostage-takers