Background
The hostage crisis was the most dramatic event in the long and complicated relationship between the United States and Iran. In 1908, vast stores of oil were discovered in Iran and caught the attention of the western world. Britain had control over the area during World War II to keep the Germans from taking over, allowing America to stay neutral. Until 1953, the United States was advocating for an independent Iran under the leadership of Reza Shah Pahlavi. Fearing that charismatic Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh might be moving Iran closer to Moscow, the CIA directed a plan to remove him and consolidate power under the Shah. Resentment had been growing over an uneven distribution of wealth and the western influences of the United States, resulting in a first confrontation with the Islamic clergy. In 1963, after an unexpected period of prosperity, the Islamic revolution began.
In the start of 1978 President Carter publically supported the Shah, calling him “an island of stability” in the troubled Middle East, ignoring the growing tension in Iran. After the recent increase in SAVAK control, resentment was already spreading and a series of protests broke out in Qom, denouncing the Shah’s regime as “anti-Islamic.” Hatred for the Shah only worsened over the year, and on January 16, 1979, he fled to Egypt. Khomeini returned to Iran two weeks later after his fourteen year exile.
Tension between the two countries had already been high, but President Carter’s decision to allow the expelled Shah cancer treatment in the United States was the final action that caused the student’s revolt. It was not the only reason though and many believe it was simply a dramatic way of the students expressing their belief. These revolutionaries wanted to break with Iran’s past and end all western influences into their affairs. The hostage crisis was also the perfect way for Khomeini to show his power over Iran and prove to the world that his government was not in control.
In the start of 1978 President Carter publically supported the Shah, calling him “an island of stability” in the troubled Middle East, ignoring the growing tension in Iran. After the recent increase in SAVAK control, resentment was already spreading and a series of protests broke out in Qom, denouncing the Shah’s regime as “anti-Islamic.” Hatred for the Shah only worsened over the year, and on January 16, 1979, he fled to Egypt. Khomeini returned to Iran two weeks later after his fourteen year exile.
Tension between the two countries had already been high, but President Carter’s decision to allow the expelled Shah cancer treatment in the United States was the final action that caused the student’s revolt. It was not the only reason though and many believe it was simply a dramatic way of the students expressing their belief. These revolutionaries wanted to break with Iran’s past and end all western influences into their affairs. The hostage crisis was also the perfect way for Khomeini to show his power over Iran and prove to the world that his government was not in control.