Iran hostage disaster on the U.S. embassy in 1979

Roh Jung-tae
 
The creator is a author and senior fellow on the Institute for Social and Financial Analysis. 
 
 
 
On Nov. 4, 1979, college students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took greater than 70 American diplomats and workers hostage, overwhelming them and giving them no probability to flee. The disaster stretched on for 444 days and have become a defining episode in Iran-U. S. relations.
 

Iranian college students climb up U.S. embassy gates in Tehran. [WIKIPEDIA]

 
The upheaval adopted the collapse of the Pahlavi monarchy. The Shah — Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who dominated with Western-style reforms and trusted the key police to suppress dissent — had misplaced the help of each the decrease courses and the elites. Anti-government protests started to unfold throughout the nation in 1978. In January 1979, the Shah fled into exile.
 
Quickly after, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 15 years overseas. He referred to as for a referendum, and in March 1979, Iran was declared an Islamic Republic — “of Islam, by Islam and for Islam,” because it was described. The brand new management dismantled Western establishments and imposed a theocratic system based mostly on spiritual authority.
 
The embassy hostage disaster grew to become essentially the most dramatic image of this shift. Though Iran’s revolutionary authorities denied involvement within the takeover, it did nothing to cease or punish the scholars. America responded with financial sanctions and army pressure. Iran remained unmoved.
 
On April 7, 1980, Washington severed diplomatic ties with Tehran and expelled Iranian diplomats. The hostages had been lastly launched on Jan. 20, 1981 — the identical day that newly elected U.S. President Ronald Reagan took workplace. By then, Iran was underneath stress from the Iran-Iraq Struggle, which had begun months earlier, and sought reduction via negotiation.
 
 
The disaster left deep scars. Diplomatic relations between Iran and the USA have by no means been restored.
 
Throughout the identical interval, Korea was additionally present process political unrest. Some people who tried to occupy the U.S. embassy or different main authorities buildings in Seoul later grew to become influential politicians or public figures. If any of these makes an attempt had succeeded, historical past might need taken a distinct course.
 
The episode serves as a reminder of how fragile political transitions could be, and the way simply protests can spiral into worldwide battle. Reflecting on the previous with sincerity and getting ready responsibly for the long run stay pressing duties for political leaders at this time.