America held hostage: in 1979, Islamic fundamentalists seized the U.S. Embassy in Iran, holding 52 Americans for 444 days--until a change in presidents. (times past).

Marine Sergeant William Quarles had a bad feeling on the rainy morning of November 4, 1979. He was watching as thousands of Iranian college students swarmed around the U.S. Embassy's 27-acre compound in Iran's capital, Tehran (map, page 18). Quarles and other lightly armed marines provided security there, but they couldn't cope with an invasion.

The number of students shouting "Death to America!" kept growing. Even so, Quarles and other Americans felt sure this was just another anti-U.S. demonstration that would soon die out. "I can't believe this," he told fellow marines. "I don't believe these little knuckleheads think they're going to take over the embassy."

Yet that's exactly what happened. After a brief struggle, 66 Americans, most of whom worked for the embassy, were taken captive. A few were freed, but 52 remained hostages for more than 14 months. Their ordeal awakened Americans to the threat of terrorism by Islamic militants. It also changed the face of TV news and contributed to the downfall of a President of the United States.

ANGER AND SURPRISE

The Iran hostage crisis took Americans by surprise. It was simply unprecedented: Under international agreements, nations can expel foreign diplomats, but cannot detain or harm them.

But in Iran, student militants were seething with anger at the U.S. The previous year, they had helped overthrow their king, known as the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Shah had brought Western ways to the country, but he employed brutal secret police, and his government was notoriously corrupt. The Shah had the backing of the U.S., which had an interest in maintaining Western control over Iranian oil. In 1953, the CIA had helped restore the Shah to power after a coup d'etat.

Then in February 1979, a fiery Muslim religious leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, awakened the rage of the poor and devout Muslims in Iran and forced the Shah into exile. Now the revolutionaries wanted the Shah returned for trial from the U.S., where President Jimmy Carter had granted him entry to be treated for cancer.

The students planned a sit-in protest at the American Embassy. As hostage John Limbert recalled:

"They seemed to be kids about 20 years old ... kids from small towns with rather strict upbringings. Many of them probably had never seen an American before."

The young zealots stormed the compound, cut the chains holding the big iron gates in front of the embassy, and rushed inside. The marines, heeding standing instructions, fired tear gas, but the bloodless battle was soon over.

Most of the students were followers of Khomeini, who had become Iran's de facto leader. Khomeini did not order the embassy takeover, but he approved of it, realizing it would humiliate the U.S.

CHANTING MOBS

In exchange for their hostages, the abductors demanded the Shah--a deal that Carter rejected. He, like other Americans, watched helplessly as the students paraded the blindfolded hostages before chanting mobs on TV.

Americans became obsessed with the hostages. CBS's popular anchorman Walter Cronkite ended each newscast with the number of days the crisis had lasted. ABC created a daily late-night news show to update the story, called America Held Hostage (later renamed Nightline). In 1980, CNN became the first round-the-clock TV news channel, with much of its airtime devoted to Iran.

The hostages themselves endured insults, interrogations, boredom, and erratic meals. They were denied news from home. Frequently they were blindfolded and tied up. A couple of times, their guards lined up the prisoners and staged terrifying mock executions.

Carter tried round after round of secret negotiations. He broke off diplomatic relations with Iran and froze its bank accounts in the U.S. In April 1980, he imposed a full economic embargo. Still, Khomeini would not budge. Desperate, Carter authorized a military rescue attempt. It ended in disaster on April 24, 1980, when a U.S. helicopter and plane collided in the Iranian desert, killing eight American commandos.

In July 1980, the Shah died. In September, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Iran. Nothing shook the hostages loose. Early in the crisis, people rallied behind the President. But by November 1980, the U.S. economy was weak, and Carter, a Democrat, faced a tough re-election fight against Ronald Reagan, a Republican.

On Election Day--the one-year anniversary of the embassy takeover--Reagan won handily. Even then, the Iranians refused to negotiate seriously until the last hours of Carter's term. On Reagan's inauguration day, January. 20, 1981, Iran finally agreed to release the hostages. In return, the U.S. promised to lift trade sanctions and unfreeze $8 billion in Iranian assets. After 444 days in captivity, the hostages were freed minutes after Reagan took the oath of office.

CURIOUS TIMING

Some Carter aides accused Reagan of making a deal with the Iranians to prevent release of the hostages before the election. No hard evidence of such a deal has been found.

The release of the hostages created an Inauguration Day like no other. TV news bounced between the new President's swearing-in and scenes of the smiling hostages arriving at a U.S. airbase in Germany. For hostage Robert C. Ode, one of the best moments came aboard the jet taking them from Tehran:

"The voice came over the Algerian plane's speaker: `You are now leaving Iranian air space!' What a cheer went up from the American hostages on the plane! This was the moment for which we had waited 444 days. Now we knew we were really free!"

Angered by U.S. Support for the Deposed Ruler, Iranians Seize U.S. Embassy Hostages

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* Should the U.S. have gone to war with Iran after the hostages had been safely returned to the U.S.?

* How would you react to an Iranian who said the U.S. was to blame for the hostage crisis?

* Should the U.S. have refused to admit the Shah for medical treatment?

* Should the U.S. make an effort to restore normal diplomatic relations with Iran?

* Why do you believe Iran waited until President Ronald Reagan's inauguration to release the hostages?

TEACHING OBJECTIVES

To help students understand one of the more bizarre developments in American history, the 444-day seizure of the U.S. Embassy and 52 of its staff by Iran.

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

BACKGROUND: Iran provoked the wrath of the U.S. and other Western powers in 1961, after a popular leader, Mohammad Mossadegh, nationalized oil wells. After the CIA brought the ousted Shah back from exile in Rome in 1953, he orchestrated a deal allowing the U.S., Britain, and France unrestricted operation in these fields. Anti-American Iranians often point to this period as a first step on the road to later anti-U.S, sentiment.

CRITICAL THINKING: Write "Limited Options" on the board. Explain to students that the U.S., then and now the most powerful country in the world, was humbled and hobbled by a country over which it could not use all of its power.

Direct students' attention to the comments of Marine Sergeant William Quarles: "I don't believe these little knuckleheads think they're going to take over the embassy." What might Sergeant Quarles say about the

options open to the U.S. after the full extent of the seizure became apparent?

Why couldn't a great power like the U.S. just march in and demand the hostages' return? Suppose the students had killed the hostages? What options would then have been open to the U.S.? Would invading and occupying Iran have produced a suitable solution to the dispute between the two countries?

HIDDEN LESSON: The article notes that the experience took Americans by surprise because it was unprecedented. Ask students to consider how relations between countries might deteriorate if most countries behaved as Iran did in 1979. Why is it in the best interest of nations to ensure the safety of foreign diplomats in their country? (Fear of retaliation is the answer.)

Upfront QUIZ 4

MULTIPLE CHOICE > HISTORY > PAGES 26-28

DIRECTIONS: Circle the letter next to the correct answer.

1. American diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran were
surprised by the events in November 1979 because under
the terms of international law countries are not allowed
to capture or kill foreign diplomats, but they may

a have them transferred to a third country.
b tax their salaries.
c expel them.
d expose them to ridicule.

2. In 1953, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

a helped restore Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power.
b overthrew Mohammad Mossadegh.
c began pumping Iranian oil.
d helped foment a war between Iran and Iraq.

3. In 1979, anti-U.S, sentiment erupted in Iran when

a the Shah left Iran.
b the U.S. announced its support for Iraq.
c the U.S. admitted the Shah for medical treatment.
d the U.S. expelled Iranian students in this country.

4. Following the departure of the Shah, Iran was ruled by
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a

a Western-educated military leader.
b close relative of the Shah.
c secret employee of the CIA.
d Muslim religious leader.

5. What was the key demand of those who seized the U.S.
Embassy? They

a offered to trade the hostages for money.
b demanded an end of oil sales to Western nations.
c offered to trade the hostages for the Shah.
d demanded the U.S. release Iranians held in U.S. jails.

6. What agreement finally released the hostages?

a The promise to unfreeze $8 billion in Iranian assets
and end trade sanctions.
b President Ronald Reagan's promise not to go to war.
c The U.S. promise to buy more Iranian oil.
d The U.S. promise not to punish the hostage takers.

Upfront Quiz 4, page 6

1. (c) expel them.
2. (a) helped restore Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi to power.
3. (c) the U.S. admitted the Shah for
medical treatment.
4. (d) Muslim holy man.
5. (c) offered to trade the hostages for the
Shah.
6. (a) The promise to release $8 billion
in Iranian assets and an end to
economic sanctions.