Terrorism

The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic conflict between Iran and the United States in which 52 Americans were held for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981 after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in support of the Iranian Revolution.

The episode reached a climax when, after failed attempts to negotiate a release, the United States military attempted a rescue operation (Operation Eagle Claw) on April 24, 1980. The mission failed and resulted in the destruction of two aircraft and death of 8 American servicemen.

The hostage crisis ended with the signing of the Algiers Accords in Algeria on January 19, 1981. The hostages were formally released into United States custody the following day, just minutes after the new American president Ronald Reagan was sworn in.

In Iran, the hostage-taking was widely seen as a blow against the U.S. and its influence in Iran, its perceived attempts to undermine the Iranian Revolution, and its long-standing support of the Shah of Iran (recently overthrown by the revolution). The Shah had been restored to power in a 1953 coup against a democratically-elected nationalist Iranian government and had recently been allowed into the United States for medical treatment.

In the United States, the hostage-taking was seen as an outrage, violating a centuries-old principle of international law that grants diplomats immunity from arrest and diplomatic compounds sovereignty in their embassies. The crisis has also been described as the "pivotal episode" in the history of Iran – United States relations. The crisis was viewed by many as a major reason for U.S. President Jimmy Carter's defeat in the November 1980 presidential election.

In Iran, the crisis strengthened the prestige of the Ayatollah Khomeini and the political power of those who supported theocracy and opposed normalization of relations with the West. The crisis also marked the beginning of U.S. legal action, or economic sanctions against Iran, that further weakened economic ties between Iran and the United States.