1979: Militants storm US embassy in Tehran It is reported that revolutionary guards and police did nothing to stop the take-over and Iranian television has indicated its support for the action by broadcasting live pictures of the siege. Militant Islamic students in Iran have stormed the US embassy in the Iranian capital,Tehran, and taken more than 90 people hostage. The students have demanded that the Shah of Iran, who fled the country in January, be extradited from the US, where he is currently receiving medical treatment for cancer, to stand trial in Iran. Ayatollah Rubollah Khomeini, who assumed control of Iran in February, has also voiced his support for the occupation. 'Show of strength' It is not clear at this stage how many of the hostages are American although it is estimated that the figure is approximately 65.One of the hostage-takers, speaking to reporters by telephone from inside the embassy, gave assurances that there was no immediate danger to the hostages, that they were safe and were being fed. He said the action was a show of strength and the hostages could be released in the next two or three days.Supporters of the siege, many of them children, have gathered outside the embassy. Some have set fire to American flags and have posted anti-American messages around the building.As yet there has been no official reaction to the siege from America. The storming of the embassy follows months of political and religious tension in Iran.Violent protests against Shah Reza Pahlavi's regime culminated in a revolution coordinated by Ayatollah Khomeini from exile in France. In January the Shah and his family fled Iran and are currently in the US. Within weeks, Ayatollah Khomeini, who had been expelled from Iran by the Shah in 1964, returned to Iran and was greeted by more than five million devotees lining the streets of Tehran. The Ayatollah immediately dismissed Prime Minister Shapur Bahktiar and installed Mehdi Bzargan as his replacement.He declared an Islamic Republic of Iran in April and since then he has presided over a brutal and repressive regime.Thousands of westerners living in Iran have already fled the country in fear of their lives. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/4/newsid_3910000/3910627.stm
Here are details of that siege. * Students helped spearhead the overthrow of the US-backed Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in the 1979 Islamic revolution. The Shah, who was already gravely ill, sought refuge overseas. * Exiled cleric Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran in triumph to seal victory for a revolution whose mantra was "Death to America". * Student activists in co-ordination with radical clerics stormed the U.S. embassy, taking 90 hostages. Fifty-two were held captive for 444 days with the students demanding the extradition of the deposed Shah from the United States. * The siege prompted then U.S. President Jimmy Carter to freeze Iranian assets and sever all diplomatic ties with Tehran. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...h-embassy-attack-brings-to-mind-US-siege.html
Speaking as diplomats were clearing out of Iran's London embassy, senior Iranian hard-line cleric Ahmad Khatami has said the country's signature "Death to America" chant should be followed by "Death to England." Khatami told worshipers at Friday Prayers in Tehran that Britain deserves such scorn for its "treacherousness." The November 29 attack on the British Embassy in Tehran followed a weekend vote by the parliament to downgrade ties with Britain and marked a new low in ties between the two countries. The incident, widely believed to have been organized with the approval of hard-line officials, has increased tensions with the West. Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said one day after the embassy incident that it reflected the public opinion in Iran. "The move by a number of students is a symbol of the mood that is reigning in the public opinion in our country," Larijani said. "The people of Iran have been really offended by the b ehavior of Britain for several decades." Larijani added that if the British government had any doubt in that regard, Iran could arrange an opinion poll to show the views of the Iranian people about the political behavior of the British government in the past decades. Opinion appears divided within the Iranian establishment, hinting at a possible split and leading to speculation -- but no evidence -- that hard-line rivals of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad sanctioned the embassy attack. (Ahmadinejad is said to have been engaged in a bitter power struggle with hard-liners close to Supreme leader Ali Khamenei.) Prominent Tehran-based university professor Alireza Alavitabar suggested to opposition Jaras television that the attack on the British Embassy was aimed at creating internal unity in the face of growing international pressure and returning some of the Iranian regime's lost legitimacy. "It seems that there are several motives for the action," Alavitabar said. "One is to influence the domestic atmosphere and strengthen internal unity by escalating international tensions. Also, there have been some incidents recently that led to the delegitimization of the establishment" -- a presumed reference to the 2009 postelection crackdown -- "[and] this action could [reverse] it." http://www.rferl.org/content/death_to_england_new_signature_chant_in_iran/24410015.html
Is "treacherousness" even a word? Damned translators, that's the problem with Persian, any words can be misconstrued, they probably meant "Treachery" but at least we know they did not mean it in a nice way don't we?
Oh the hypocricy of the man International law??? The same one that would make the British invasion of Iraq illegal and the PM and soldiers charged with war crimes? The same law that would see Israeli ministers in the dock? The same law that called the flotilla raid illegal You know the subjects we have discussed and you defend with all your might
I know it is difficult to understand these things once one is of a certain age and there is the onset of alzheimers/parkinsons etc, and I always try and do my bit for those in need. Therefore I will explain it to you If you say you are going to ignore someone, then the idea is NOT to respond or even to read their posts. In this instance the person doing the ignoring would be YOU, due to self imposed sanctions (see military speak just for you) I however have never said I will ignore/not respond so these restrictions do not apply Try and keep up old man
I have came to the conclusion that we should 'nuke' the entire human race.Then we could live in peace
More: "Iranian diplomats expelled from London arrive home," by Ali Akbar Dareini for the Associated Press, December 2: [...] Britain's ambassador to Iran, Dominick Chilcott — now back in Britain — offered new details about the attacks, saying the experience had been "frightening." "We had no idea how it was going to end," he said, describing how the mob trashed rooms, damaged furniture, scrawled graffiti and tore up a portrait of Queen Victoria, as staff took shelter in a secure area of the embassy. "It felt like very spiteful, mindless vandalism, but it wasn't quite mindless," Chilcott said. "They removed anything that was electronic — mobile telephones, personal computers — anything that might give information about who you were talking to or what you were doing." Hmm, very interesting.
Interesting how? That electronic goods may have a resale value greater than a portrait of Queen Victoria? Its no more interesting than the london rioters nicking TVs
