Iran hostage crisis

The compound falls, 4 November 1979

Between 300 and 500 Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979, citing the deposed shah’s admission to the United States as their justification. The embassy security officer walked out to negotiate and was seized himself; four Marine guards were taken as the attackers entered the chancery.

Employees held the upper floor for roughly two hours while the occupiers worked against the barriers with fire and a cutting torch.

The listing’s numbers mix separate moments

“90 hostages, 53 of whom are American” blends two different counts. Roughly 90 was an early estimate; the settled accounting is 66 captured Americans, three of them detained at the Foreign Ministry rather than the compound.

Thirteen were released on 19–20 November, leaving 53. Richard Queen’s release in July 1980 brought the number to 52, who were held until 20 January 1981 — 444 days in all.

Six other American diplomats evaded capture and were sheltered by Canadian and Swedish colleagues until their extraction in January 1980; they were never among the 66.

What turned a takeover into a crisis

The shah had been admitted to the United States on 22 October for medical treatment, not granted political asylum. A Tehran radio broadcast reported that the occupiers demanded his extradition.

Ayatollah Khomeini endorsed the occupation after it happened, which prevented the provisional government from ending it. Prime minister Mehdi Bazargan had condemned the seizure and demanded unconditional release; his government resigned on 6 November.