THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION

The Iranian Revolution & Hostage Crisis



The Iranian Revolution & Hostage Crisis

Introduction

Back in the fifties, the Arab Muslim world, then struggling for independence from the West, was the scene of a struggle and the clash between parallel ideological and political areas; that was nothing less than a competition between nationalism and Islam (Pardo, 2004; Aidani, 2011). In this struggle, several events acted as catalysts in influencing the positions of the contenders. Historians consider the scenario of the Iranian revolution to be parallel to the decline of Arab nationalism. In the late fifties, the pan-Arab project of Nasser reached the top with the integration of Egypt, Syria and Yemen. However, the collapse of secular nationalism promoted by Nasser experienced a final lunge in 1967; mainly because of the Arab defeat against Israel in the Six Day War and marked the beginning of the inevitable decline of Nasserism (leftist Arab nationalist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser) in Egypt (Katouzian, 2011; Inafuku, 2010). In 1970, the death of Nasser also meant the demise of his regime.

Discussion & Analyses

The Iranian Hostage Crisis spanned 444 days; during which nearly 50 American individuals were held hostage by Iranian militants and students (Rahmani, 2007; Aquilina, 2011). The Iranian Hostage Crisis constitutes one of American history's most significant chapters because the US was not able to exercise the strength and intensity for which it holds a reputation around the world. Even though operations such as Operation Eagle Claw were planned and put into execution; the unpredictable conditions on the ground made it impossible to conduct a successful operation (Katouzian, 2010; Poudeh & Shirvani, 2008). Extensive preparation and rehearsal went into the development of plans like the Operation Eagle Claw but none bore fruit.

The hostages were eventually released when the Algiers Accord was signed between the US and Iran; thanks to the cooperative role of Algeria (Gholizadeh & Hook, 2012; Kashefi, 2008). Furthermore, the Iranian Hostage Crisis is known for the ineffective coordination of military force and personnel; which resulting in the needless death of personnel and the loss of valuable equipment that was later taken by Iranian authorities. The Iranian Hostage Crisis began on November 4, 1979 and took origin on account of the Iranian militants' allegiance to the Iranian Revolution (Khosrokhavar & Ghaneirad, 2010; Kazemipur & Goodarzi, 2009). At that time, President Jimmy Carter was in the office and the militants demanded that Iran severed all ties and cooperation with the US if the hostages are to be released. In particular, the militants demanded that Iran stops supplying oil to the US (Gocheleishvili, 2007; Cronin, 2001). However, very little could be done to as the militants continued to hold the Americans hostage in the American Embassy in Tehran. No military or political action was able to crack through and the situation only worsened with each attempt (Greason, 2005; Marsh, 2009). The militants released hostages from time to time; releasing a hostage once his/her condition would deteriorate to a severe ...