Iran hostage crisis
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This article is about the siege of the American embassy in Tehran. For the siege of the Iranian embassy in London, see Iranian Embassy siege.
Iran hostage crisis
Part of the consolidation of the Iranian Revolution
Iran hostage crisis - Iraninan students comes up U.S. embassy in Tehran.jpg
Iranian students crowd the U.S. Embassy in Tehran (November 4, 1979)
DateNovember 4, 1979 – January 20, 1981
(444 days or 1 year, 2 months, 2 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Tehran, Iran
Result

Hostages released by Algiers Accords

Severance (and end) of Iran–United States relations
Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan and his cabinet resigned
Iran–Iraq War
Sanctions imposed on Iran
The U.S. designates Iran as State Sponsors of Terrorism on January 19, 1984

Belligerents

Iran

Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line

People's Mujahedin[1] United States
Canada
Commanders and leaders

Iran Ruhollah Khomeini
Iran Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha[2]
Massoud RajaviUnited States Jimmy Carter
United States Ronald Reagan
Canada Joe Clark
Casualties and losses
8 American servicemen and 1 Iranian civilian killed during an attempt to rescue the hostages.

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Consolidation of the
Iranian Revolution
Part of a series on the
Iran hostage crisis
Iran hostage crisis - Iraninan students comes up U.S. embassy in Tehran.jpg
Topics
Hostage leaders
Parties and organizations
Events

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Fifty-two United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran[3][4] and seized hostages. A diplomatic standoff ensued. The hostages were held for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981.

Western media described the crisis as an "entanglement" of "vengeance and mutual incomprehension."[5] U.S. President Jimmy Carter called the hostage-taking an act of "blackmail" and the hostages "victims of terrorism and anarchy".[6] In Iran it was widely seen as an act against the U.S. and its influence in Iran, including its perceived attempts to undermine the Iranian Revolution and its longstanding support of the shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in 1979.[7]