10 Facts About Iran Sponsoring Terrorism
3. Iran Hostage Crisis
On November 4, 1979, 500 Iranians stormed the American Embassy and took 90 employees and visitors captive. They later released non-Americans, women and African-Americans, and held the 52 remaining Americans hostage for 444 days. The Americans held an embargo against Iran and demanded that the hostages be freed. Iran demanded the unblocking of Iran’s frozen assets in the United States ($24 billion) to release the hostages. Iran also demanded U.S. based Shah of Iran to be arrested and given back to Iran. They would later agree to accept $8 billion in frozen assets in exchange for the release of the hostages. They released the hostages after the inauguration of Ronald Reagan.
In 2000, the former hostages sued the Iranian government for state sponsored terrorism under the 1996 Antiterrorism Act. They would win the suit, but would not be awarded damages because of a 2002 judgment that the terms of their release barred awarding any damages.
