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Iran hostage crisis
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A blindfolded man with his hands bound is escorted by four men outside the U.S. Embassy in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis, with onlookers in the background.
What Was the Iran Hostage Crisis?
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A blindfolded man with his hands bound is escorted by four men outside the U.S. Embassy in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis, with onlookers in the background.
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A blindfolded man with his hands bound is escorted by four men outside the U.S. Embassy in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis, with onlookers in the background.
Iran hostage crisis Blindfolded American hostage surrounded by captors outside the U.S. embassy in Tehran, November 9, 1979.

Iran hostage crisis

United States history
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Iran hostage crisis, international crisis (1979–81) in which militants in Iran seized 66 American citizens at the U.S. embassy in Tehrān and held 52 of them hostage for more than a year. The crisis, which took place during the chaotic aftermath of Iran’s Islamic revolution (1978–79) and its overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy, had dramatic effects on domestic politics in the United States and poisoned U.S.-Iranian relations for decades. The crisis spanned the U.S. presidencies...

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