Does anybody know why we hate Iran? And what caused the 1979 hostage crisis?

Answer 1

On November 4, 1979, radical Iranian students seized the United States Embassy complex in the Iranian capital of Tehran. The immediate cause of this takeover was the anger many Iranians felt over the U.S. President Jimmy Carter allowing the deposed former ruler of Iran, Shah Reza Pahlavi, to enter the U.S. for medical treatment. In Iran, this was believed to be an opening move leading up an American-backed return to power by the Shah. The crisis which followed this seizure created a near state of war, ruined Jimmy Carter's presidency, and began an environment of hostility between America and Iran which continues to this day.

Though fear of an American-backed return by the Shah was the publicly stated reason, the true cause of the seizure was the long-standing U.S. support for the Shah's government. Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran from 1941 to 1979, with a brief period of exile in 1953 when he fled to Italy due to a power struggle with Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. Because Mossadegh's policies and announcements created concern over access to Iranian oil, oil prices, and possible Soviet influence in Iran, the United States and British intelligence services aided Iranian military officers in a coup to overthrow the Prime Minister. After his return to power, the Shah established a very close alliance with the United States. The U.S. supplied weapons, training, and technical knowledge that aided the Shah in modernizing his country. However, the Shah ruled as a dictator, using SAVAK, his secret police, to terrorize his political enemies. The Shah was opposed by both the Marxist Tudeh Party, and by fundamentalist Islamic leaders who believed his policies and his reliance on the Americans were corrupting Iranian society.

By 1978, unrest against the Shah had escalated into a violent uprising against his authority called the Iranian Revolution or the Islamic Revolution. On January 16, 1979, the Shah fled into exile for a second time, traveling to various countries before finally entering the U.S. for cancer treatments in October, 1979. After the Shah's departure, the Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini returned from his own exile in France to take power over Iran. Khomeini was a leading member of the Shia Muslim clergy. The Shia are a subset of the Islamic faith, and form the majority of the Iranian population. Vital parts of this Islamic Revolution were propaganda and demonstrations against the United States and against President Jimmy Carter. After the Shah's entry into the U.S., the Ayatollah Khomeini called for anti-American street demonstrations. On November 4, 1979, one such demonstration , organized by Iranian student unions loyal to Khomeini, took place outside the walled compound housing the U.S. Embassy.

Members of these Iranian student unions scaled the walls of the U.S. Embassy on November 4, 1979, taking 63 Americans hostage. Three more U.S. citizens were taken prisoner at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, for a total of 66 hostages. Within three weeks, the hostage-takers released several women and African-Americans, leaving 53. A sick hostage was later released, reducing the number to 52. Throughout their captivity, the hostages were paraded in front of television cameras, often blindfolded or hooded. Though the hostage-takers were not members of the Iranian government or military, their obvious, publicly-stated loyalty to Khomeini and the Islamic government created an international crisis.

Immediate official American reactions involved halting oil exports from Iran, expelling many Iranians living in the U.S., and freezing Iranian government assets and investments. Many Americans called for military action to free the hostages, but the situation became much more complicated when the Soviet Union invaded Iran's neighbor, Afghanistan, in order to crush an Islamic-based rebellion against that nation's Marxist government. President Carter now faced a crisis with oil-rich, but hostile Iran, a new Cold War crisis with the Soviets, and a growing sense in his own country that he was increasingly showing himself to be an ineffective leader.

Partly to counter the criticisms against him, as well as to free the hostages, President Carter ordered a military rescue mission code-named "Operation Eagle Claw." This mission was a total and complete failure resulting in the deaths of eight U.S. military personnel. On April 24, 1980, units of the rescue force landed in the Iranian desert to refuel their aircraft before heading to Tehran. A confusing series of events took place at this refueling point, including failed equipment, and desert sandstorms which reduced visibility. As a result of these problems, the rescue was called off. During the retreat, one of the helicopters collided with a transport airplane, causing an explosion which killed eight members of the rescue mission. Several of the burned American bodies were later part of grisly street demonstrations protesting the abortive U.S. "invasion" of Iran. A second rescue attempt was planned but never implemented, largely due to equipment failure.

On July 27, 1980, the former Shah died. Then, in September, 1980, President Saddam Hussein of Iraq invaded Iran. These two events led the Iranian government to enter into negotiations with the U.S., with Algeria acting as a mediator.

Domestically, the Hostage Crisis ruined President Carter's presidency. Unfortunately for him, the one-year anniversary of the embassy takeover fell on the same day as the United States Presidential election of 1980. Carter lost that election to former California Governor Ronald Reagan, who, though never publicly criticizing Carter over the hostage crisis, promised to rebuild American power and influence in the world.

The negotiations between Iran and the U.S. culminated in a deal that released the hostages and the eight billion dollars worth of frozen Iranian assets. Moments after Ronald Reagan took the oath of office on January 20, 1981, the hostages were allowed to fly out of Iran after 444 days of captivity.

The legacy of this prolonged crisis continue to affect Iranian-U.S. relations over 25 years later. Iran and the U.S. still do not have official diplomatic relations with each other, and both nations hurl hostile accusations at each other over issues such as the American invasion of Iraq and Iranian nuclear research. The June, 2005 election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President of Iran opened up old wounds. Several of the former hostages contend that Ahmadinejad was one of the leaders of the student groups that seized the embassy in 1979. The Iranian government denies he had anything to do with the seizure, but it is another sign that tensions remain over the entire episode.

Answer 2

Back in the 1950's the Iranian Parliament nationalized their oil reserves, which has been under ownership of a British company. The British, with the eventual cooperation of the US, pushed the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to dismiss the legally elected prime Minister. The Prime minister staged a opposite coup and forced out the Shah, who was backed by the US and Britain. A second attempt succeeded and the Shah had the Prime Minister replaced and arrested.
The Shah was both pro-west culturally and despotic, his secret police SAVAK, were notorious for their abuses of dissidents. Eventually, the country grew restless and the then Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar took the reigns as the Shah left the country once more, dissolving the SAVAK and freeing religious opponents from the jails. The Ayatollah Khomeini was allowed to return from exile - and an attempt was made for a power sharing coalition. The ayatollah rejected this effort, the military stayed neutral, and the ayatollah invalidated the rule of the Shah.
The shah was allowed to live in exile in Egypt, but needed medical care. When he entered the US - this outraged the Iranian revolutionary guard, who seized our embassy to demand that the Shah be delivered for trial for crimes against the Iranian people.

After a 444 day hostage crisis - the Iran-Iraq war had started, the Shah had died in Egypt, and possible some tricky deals were worked out, the US agreed to never meddle in Iranian affairs, to unfreeze Iranian funds, and to forbid any claims for damages - the hostages were freed 20 minutes after the Reagan inauguration.

Answer 3

I don't hate Iran because of the 1979 hostage crisis. The over running of the embassy was allowed by the Iranian government by its disregard for diplomatic norms.

The Iranian people were upset because our government supported the Shaw. But the hostage crisis occurred because Jimmy Carter wasn't willing to do anything about it. When Regan was elected the hostages were released.

I hate Iran because they support terrorist which means we are at war with the terrorist and the regimes that support them. Like Iran, bombs should be raining down on the Iranians right now, their navy should be at the bottom of the persian gulf, and their air force in flames.

Answer 4

we used to support iran because the former shah was pro-western and an allly of the u.s. then the islamic revolution--led by ayatollah khomeni--overthrew and exiled the shah. the IR was very anti american. in the iran-iraq war we were supporting iran until the IR. then we switched sides to support iraq--which at the time was led by saddam hussein. we supplied iraq with chemical weapons (and some say nukes too as well as conventional weapons and intelligence. the hostage crisis was a side effect of the anti american IR.
the american intervention in the middle east in the late 70's-early 80s led to the mess we are in today.

p.s. it is a popular myth that reagan negotiated the hostage release. it was actually jimmy carter and his administration. but the IR in power was so upset at carter for switching sides to iraq that they didn't actually release the hostages until carter was out of office. kind of a last F you to carter.

Answer 5

A Radicial Islamic revolution happened in Iran, and the Iranian government essentially hates the West, and strives to destroy Israel and America. The Ayatollah told the youth to capture Americans because they were the evil ones that installed the Shah.

Answer 6

The second question answers the first.

Iran was controlled by one man, a Shah, and the US supported him, allegedly to prevent communism from coming in to Iran. When it became unsafe for him to continue to be the dictator, the US let him come here for refuge, and this made the Iranians mad as us, since they wanted to torture him to deah to show their true civilized state. So, they decided we were the enemy, and invaded our embassy. In international law, invading an embassy is an act of war.

so, we hate them because they committed an act of war against us.

Simple, wasn't it?

Answer 7

The cause was that we allowed ourselves to be entangled in regional affairs, while attempting to stop the spread of militant communism. It was a sad state of affairs, and there is little we can do to make up for it, however, there is always a chance we could all sit down and discuss life, and the needs of the people, rather than desires and war.

Answer 8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Hostage_Crisis

iran is full of terrorists. do not forget that terrorism has been around for a long time, not just since bush came along as the democrat libs so want you to believe.

hope it helps.

Answer 9

It could be because they arm and support almost all of todays terrorists acts.