On November 4th, 1979 thousands of revenge-seeking Iranian militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days. This ordeal is known as the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Some were planned, others were accidental, but the events that unfolded during the crisis formed the framework for modern-day Iranian government. The dictator was overthrown, a new government was put into place, and an Iranian leader emerged following the hostage crisis. The Iranian Hostage Crisis, which was originally a spontaneous act of revenge, ultimately created the political landscape for modern day Iran.

The Hostage Crisis ended United States interference in the country of Iran.  To this day the United States has halted all transactions and communications with the country.   The Shah of Iran had a large amount of power, and the US greatly influenced his decisions.  By the end of the crisis though, he no longer held any power.  The man engaging in the interference with Iran was President Jimmy Carter, but he was no longer in office once the Hostage crisis was over and was replaced by President Ronald Reagan.  The Hostage Crisis also brought an end to communications between the US and Iran.  The effects of these actions resulted in an ongoing end to the US interference in Iran.

The Shah of Iran had very close ties to the United States. He was supported by the US, for Iran was America’s number one source of oil.  “The United States had provided political support and, more recently, massive military assistance to the government of the shah of Iran,” (Jimmy Carter and the Iranian Hostage Crisis).  The United States protected the shah, and so the shah tended to make political decisions in their favor.  The tables turned against the shah later on, as he had lost the support of his country.  It got to a point where the only possible option for the shah was to flee the country into exile, and a new group came into power.  The authority of the shah was brought to an end, which in turn brought the United States’ influence in Iran to an end.

The shah of Iran was permitted into the United States following his exile.  He was diagnosed with cancer and travelled to several countries until he was allowed into America for cancer treatment by President Jimmy Carter, (Iran Hostage Crisis).  This angered the Iranians, who wanted the shah back so he could be executed and in an act of revenge they stormed the embassy and took the Americans hostage.  Ronald Reagan took over office after Carter’s first term.  Reagan did not attempt to connect ties with Iran and the two countries have not communicated since. “The United States and Iran haven't had diplomatic relations for more than 30 years,” (Activists Call for Renewal of Diplomatic Relationship between Iran, U.S).  This means that there has not been a relation with Iran since before the hostage crisis began, while the shah was still in power.

As a result of the Hostage Crisis, the government switched from a dictatorship to a theocracy, which is still in place to this day.  When the shah still maintained power in Iran, he served as the dictator.  But once the shah fled the country, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared himself the supreme ruler.  The theocracy was then put into place, and the government has remained this way ever since.

The government in Iran was a dictatorship while the shah was in power.  Iran was previously a democratic nation, and had never planned on converting to a dictatorship.  “Iran had descended into dictatorship after the United States overthrew the most democratic government it had ever known,” (Kinzer).  The United States did not want Iran to become a democracy, for they could then make changes that would affect their oil exports to America.  So the US formed a coup in Iran and replaced the Democracy with a Dictatorship so that they could control all decisions.  Iran never wanted or planned on a dictatorship, so it was destined to change.

That change in government came in January of 1979.  The shah was quickly losing the support of his country as it became more and more apparent that he was associated with the United States and that he was attempting to westernize Iran.  The stability of the country was beginning to fall apart too, as people began threatening his power.  One man, a religious fanatic named Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini pushed the shah to his limits.  He forced the shah to flee the country and seized the opportunity, taking power over Iran, (Jimmy Carter and the Iranian Hostage Crisis).  This move put an end to dictatorship in Iran and gave the country a new beginning.

The shift in government in Iran caused a theocracy to be put into place.  When Khomeini took power, he brought with him his theocratic regime, (Jimmy Carter and the Iranian Hostage Crisis).  This was very pleasing for the people of Iran to hear.  They would be able to vote for their leaders, and it meant that they were completely independent from the United States.  The current Supreme Ruler in Iran is Ali Khamenei and the elected President is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, (Iran: Government).  These two positions are the head figures in a theocracy.  The change in power following the hostage crisis was crucial because it setup the government that is still in place in modern day Iran.

The Hostage Crisis very directly affected Iran’s political landscape, in that the current president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was one of the head figures in leading the hostage crisis. He has been repeatedly identified as being one of the directors of the crisis since taking office. While holding the Americans hostage, Ahmadinejad was exposed to enormous amounts of power, and his experiences with all of the power during the crisis created the man that he is today.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was accused of being one of the ringleaders of the Iranian Hostage Crisis.  After being elected President in 2009, Ahmadinejad was identified by several former American hostages as being one of the men in charge.  “Soon after the news of his election victory, former hostages came forward and told members of the press that they remembered the former engineering student as one of their interrogators,” (Lake).  This occurred twenty-four years after the hostage crisis came to an end.  If multiple former hostages could pick him out twenty-four years later it is safe to say that Ahmadinejad played a part in the hostage crisis.

The Crisis and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s role in it helped him recognize the power that he had.  He spoke to President Jimmy Carter regularly for over a year, with President Carter begging and negotiating for a deal to release the hostages.  Ahmadinejad also found a helpful source of power soon after storming the embassy.  He was able to gain access to all of the computer files in the embassy.  This gave him private information on all of the hostages, and also revealed any current spies in the country.  “A retired Air Force colonel, David Roeder… recalled how in one interrogation session Mr. Ahmadinejad sat in a room and watched as his questioner gave the location and time that his son in Alexandria, Va., caught his bus for special-education classes and then threatened that his wife would receive fingers and toes of his son if he did not cooperate,” (Lake).  This was information that came from the computers and gave him an immense advantage.  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was given a great amount of power, and took advantage of it whenever possible.  If he didn’t recognize the power he had with the record files, he definitely recognized it when President Carter, the President of one of the most powerful countries in the world was trying to negotiate with him.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the ruler he is today due to his experiences as one of the leaders of the hostage crisis. Along with realizing his own power, the crisis taught him to be ruthless. Ex-prisoners claim that human rights were non-existent in prisons. It was said that political prisoners were tortured, mistreated and exposed to mock executions, (Iran).  Ahmadinejad rules with an iron fist which originated in the US embassy. "He did not say anything at the time, but it was clear Ahmadinejad was in control," (Lake). This quote from an ex-hostage shows how powerful he was, that he could not speak a single word but still make it known that he had the power.

The political landscape of modern day Iran can be directly connected to the events during and immediately following the hostage crisis. The United States no longer interferes with Iranian affairs.  There are also no current diplomatic relations between Iran and America, and haven’t been since the shah was still in power. A theocratic government was put into place following the overthrow of the dictatorship, and it has yet to change. The crisis also created a powerful ruthless man who is now Iran’s President. Though it started out as a reactive act of revenge, the Iranian Hostage Crisis changed the country’s course of history forever.