Shah Enters U.S.: Iran Hostage Crisis Triggered
The United States admitted the deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi for cancer treatment in New York on October 22, 1979. The decision was made over strong objections from the U.S. embassy in Tehran, which warned it would provoke a violent backlash. Two weeks later, on November 4, Iranian students stormed the embassy and seized 66 American hostages. Fifty-two were held for 444 days. The hostage crisis defined the final year of Jimmy Carter's presidency, killed a rescue mission in the Iranian desert that left eight servicemen dead, and contributed to Carter's defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1980. The Shah died in Cairo on July 27, 1980, still in exile. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran have not been restored since, making it one of the longest breaks in modern diplomacy.
October 22, 1979
47 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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