35th anniversary of the end of the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran
On November 4, 1979, Iranian student revolutionaries stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took a group of Americans hostage after Washington refused to hand over the toppled U.S.-backed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, for trial in Iran.
Ultimately, the students held 52 hostages for 444 days, releasing them on January 20, 1981. The group of 52 were released minutes after Ronald Reagan took his oath as president of the U.S., dramatic timing witnessed by many on television with a split screen broadcast 35 years ago.
In this photo, Iranian students climb over the wall of the U.S. Embassy during the Iranian Revolution, November 4, 1979. The students went on to seize the embassy staff, and initially held more than 60 of them as hostages.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Demonstrators burn an American flag, November 9, 1979, atop the wall of the U.S. Embassy where students have been holding American hostages since November 4.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
A representative of the Iranian students holds up a portrait of one of the blindfolded hostages, during a press conference in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, November 5, 1979.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
An American hostage is paraded by his captors in the compound of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, November 8, 1979.
An Iranian crowd of thousands stood by chanting "death to Carter - Yankee go home."
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Iranian students stand guard in front of the entrance of the U.S. Embassy on November 6, 1979, as a portrait of Ayatollah Khomeini and banners are displayed.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Two Iranian students show the guns they took from U.S. Marines on November 9, 1979, when they overpowered the embassy staff.
1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Two Iranians use the U.S. flag to carry garbage out of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, November 13, 1979.
About 60 Americans and 40 other nationals were held hostage at this time inside the compound since November 4.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
The second released group of U.S. Embassy staffers in Tehran hold a press conference November 19, 1979, the day after Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of all women and black American hostages.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Iranian students, occupying the U.S Embassy in Tehran, sing during a press conference for the second released group of U.S. Embassy staffers November 19, 1979, two days after Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of all women and black American hostages.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
The three released American hostages from the U.S. Embassy on November 19, 1979 in look out the window as they are driven from a press conference in Tehran to the airport and subsequent freedom.
From left: Kathy Gross, 22, from Cambridge Spring, Penn, Marine Sgt. Ladell Maples, 23, from Earle, Arkansas; and Marine Sgt. William Quarles, 23, from Washington, D.C.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Anti-American Iranians pray outside of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, November 20, 1979.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
An Anti-American crowd demonstrates outside the U.S. Embassy, November 21, 1979.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
A padlock is visible on the gate of the U.S. Embassy, November 27, 1979, with students inside demonstrating their determination to hold onto the American hostages until the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi is returned to Iran.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
An armed Iranian student, one of the captors holding Americans hostage inside the embassy, patrols the embassy compound on November 29, 1979.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
An effigy of President Carter is held aloft during a mass demonstration as thousands of factory workers show their support for the students holding hostages inside the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, December 23, 1979.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Barry Rosen, one of the American hostages being held in Iran, is shown on a video screen being treated by an Iranian Red Crescent doctor in the occupied U.S. Embassy in this film shot by the militants, March 1980.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
The burned out wreckage of a U.S. aircraft lies in the desert some 300 miles south of Tehran after the abortive commando-style raid into Iran, April 1980, aimed at freeing the American hostages being held in Tehran.
The rescue mission fell apart when several helicopters failed and a helicopter and C141 transport plane collided. Eight U.S. servicemen died in the failed mission.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
President Jimmy Carter prepares to make a national television address from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. on the failed mission to rescue the hostages, April 25, 1980.
Carter was criticized by many for his "Rose Garden strategy," staying at the White House during the crisis, the failed rescue attempt and leaving the embassy unprotected in the first place when he allowed the Shah to come to the U.S.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Ken Taylor, Canadian Ambassador to Iran, laughs as he answers questions during a meeting with journalists outside the Canadian Embassy in Paris, January 31, 1980.
Taylor was the key figure in the dangerous "Canadian Caper," keeping six Americans hidden at his residence in Tehran during the hostage crisis. Working with the CIA, Taylor helped the six obtain Canadian passports to pose as a Canadian film crew to leave Iran in 1979 after several weeks in hiding.
Taylor died October 15, 2015, after a two month battle with colon cancer at the age of 81.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
David Roeder shouts and waves as he arrives at Rhein-Main U.S. Air Force base in Frankfurt, Germany from Algeria on January 21, 1981.
Roeder was among 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days after their capture at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.The group was released January 20, 1981.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who had negotiated for the hostages release right up to the last hours of his presidency, lifts his arm to the crowd alongside former hostage Bruce Laingen at a U.S. Air Force hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany, January 21, 1981.
The United States agreed to unfreeze Iran's assets in exchange for the freedom of the hostages.
Though the U.S. and Iran came to an agreement to free the hostages in December 1980, Iran waited till Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president before releasing them. It was a pointed political statement against Carter.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Shredded paper fills the air over buses carrying the former hostages and their family down Pennsylvania Ave. to a reception at the White House in Washington, D.C., January 27, 1981.
U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran
Former hostage Alan Golacinski of Silver Spring, Maryland, salutes the crowd during a ticker tape parade along Broadway in Lower Manhattan on January 30, 1981, honoring the Americans after their return from captivity in Iran.