Hostage Crisis of 1979 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hostage Crisis of 1979 - Research Paper Example number of hostages held down to 52.2 There are several questions that are being asked on what could have been the actual cause of the attack on the US embassy in Tehran by the pro Ayatollah students. There are varied views on what could have motivated them into the act. It is generally said that the Shah Pahlavi in New York may have been the cause of the crisis. Despite the acceptance of Shah into US soil being taken to be the immediate cause of the attack, the hostage taking was actually much more than Shah’s acceptance.3 This was an avenue that the participants in the act used to show that they were breaking away from the past where the Americans had been interfering with the Iran’s internal affairs by supporting Shah. Moreover, they used it to raise the profile of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The hostages were finally set free after 444 days on 21st January 1981.This coincided with the inaugural address of President Ronald Reagan. The immediate cause of this crisis was the decision by the Carter administration to accept Shah into the US.4 It was purported that Shah had travelled to the US to seek medical attention. This was a few months after government had been toppled by the Muslim Students Followers of Imam’s Line and other revolutionary groups in Iran that were opposed to Shah Pahlavi’s rule. The students were angered by the fact that Shah was accepted into the US despite the fact that he had committed atrocities against the Iranians. As a way of showing their disappointment, they decided to raid the US embassy. The group considered the USA to be the country that was responsible for the crimes that were committed by Shah and the decision by the Carter administration to accept Shah into the US was an act of disrespect to the Iranians.5 Shah Pahlavi and his administration have been blamed for the hostage crisis that took place on 1979.6 This is because he allowed the US to dictate how things were run in Iran especially when it came to matters