The Iran Hostage Crisis

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer explains that the 'Iran hostage crisis' refers to the events following the seizure of the American embassy in Iran on November 1979 by militant students during which 52 U.S. diplomats were held hostage with the Iranian regime's consent for 444 days in contravention of all diplomatic norms. The writer notes that the crisis had a profound effect on US-Iran relations reverberations of which can still be felt today in a highly strained relationship. The writer discusses that it also influenced the domestic politics of both countries in no uncertain terms: helping the radical Iranian clergy led by Ayatollah Khomeini to consolidate its power in the early days of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, and contributing to a large extent in the decisive defeat of President Jimmy Carter in the November 1980 US Presidential elections. This paper gives the background and a brief overview of the crisis, analyzes its causes and explains the effect it had on the Carter Presidency.

Outline:
Background
The Embassy Take-over
Surprise for the Americans
Options for the Carter Administration
The Effect on Carter's Popularity
The Disastrous Rescue Attempt
The October Surprise

From the Paper:

" The actual seizure of the American Embassy took place on the morning of November 4, 1979 that had been proclaimed as the National Students Day to honor the students who had been gunned down by the Shah's police the previous year. Thousands of students gathered outside the embassy shouting the customary anti-Shah and anti-US slogans and at first, it seemed to be a customary demonstration which had become a routine since the Iranian Revolution until a large group of students poured through the main gate of the compound and started to scale the embassy walls. Despite the best efforts of the embassy staff to prevent the takeover, the students soon overwhelmed the sixty-five Americans inside the embassy and took them hostage. Even though both the captors and the hostages had expected the seizure to be a short-term affair, the crisis proved to be a long-drawn out affair that lasted for more than a year and was mainly responsible for reducing the Carter presidency to a single term."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bowden, M. (2006). Guests of the Ayatollah: the First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.
• Daniel, E. L. (2001). The History of Iran. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
• Houghton, D. P. (2001). US Foreign Policy and the Iran Hostage Crisis. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
• "Interview with Jimmy Carter." (1982). Carter Presidency Project: Final Edited Transcript.
• November 29, 1982. Retrieved on March 22, 2008 from http://www.c-span.org/apa/carter_jimmy_1982.pdf

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