Iranian Hostage Crisis

Iran

The Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was the king (Shah) of Iran Was voted out of office in 1950 A coup (overthrow of the government) led by the U.S. brought him back in 1953

Shah Pahlavi The Shah was a great friend of the U.S. But he was not liked by the people Iranians would disappear and be killed by the secret police Street protests would be fired on by military helicopters

Reasons for Hating the Shah Iran was (and is) a conservative, Muslim country but the Shah introduced American culture to Iran, angering many The Shah was friends with both Israel and America The Shah wanted to westernize Iran and banned many traditional Muslim practices like women’s headscarves The

The Opposition Ayatollah Khomenei Had been expelled from Iran but was directing the opposition from Iraq He was a Muslim cleric (priest) and hated the U.S. He returned to Iran in 1979 and overthrew the government

What is an Embassy? An embassy is a building where a nation can send representatives For instance, France has an embassy in Washington, D.C. and there are many French government officials who work there If you go to an embassy, you are technically in that other country.

Embassy Takeover Students protesting outside the U.S. embassy climbed the walls, took over the embassy and took everyone inside hostage They were held for 444 days and only released on President Reagan’s 1st day in office

America did attempt a rescue: Operation Eagle Claw One of the planes collided with a helicopter killing 8 in the middle of a dust storm The US military reforms after this led to the operation that killed Osama bin Laden

Since Then… Iranians have worked against America and Israel in the Middle East They believe America is the “Great Satan” and is anti-Islam America has worked to limit Iran’s influence and even fought a naval war with them