|
|
Article: Iran Hostage Crisis
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS
IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS.
On 4 November 1979, Islamic militants overran the American embassy in Teheran, Iran, initiating a crisis that lasted through the end of President Jimmy Carter's term. The militants held fifty-two of the embassy's personnel hostage for 444 days. Relations between the United States and Iran began to disintegrate in early 1979, during the Iranian revolution. Following the overthrow of the U.S. ally Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi, the new government, led by the Muslim fundamentalist Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, focused much of its fervor against the United States, culminating with the embassy takeover following Carter's decision to allow the shah to ...