16 Events During the Iranian Hostage Crisis That Still Affect US-Iran Relations Today

16 Events During the Iranian Hostage Crisis That Still Affect US-Iran Relations Today

Trista - January 12, 2019

16 Events During the Iranian Hostage Crisis That Still Affect US-Iran Relations Today
Ayatollah Khameini, now the Grand Ayatollah of Iran. dailymail.co.uk.

1. Nearly 40 Years Later, The Crisis Continues to Cause Tension

One of the immediate responses of the United States to the hostage situation in Iran was to impose sanctions, meaning that trade between Iran and the United States, as well as other countries that were allies of the United States, would be severely restricted. Over the ensuing decades, especially after the Iran-Iraq War ended, Iran built up its economy, including a vast telecommunications network and a tourism industry surrounding its historic sites. Iran and the United States had no relations with each other for over 30 years. Iranian interests in the US were taken care of through a special interest section of the Embassy of Pakistan, and the Swiss embassy in Tehran had a particular interest section for the United States. Meanwhile, the tensions that had festered and exploded during the hostage crisis continued to grow.

On November 4, 2018, the thirty-ninth anniversary of the seizure of the American embassy in Tehran, Donald Trump announced a renewal of sanctions against Iran. President Obama had begun the process of unfreezing the tensions between Iran and the United States for the first time since the hostage crisis by eliminating sanctions in return for denuclearization of Iran. Many people believed that a new era of increased communication and resolution of the tensions created by the hostage crisis would finally begin. However, that dream has yet to be realized.

 

Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

“Ruhollah Khomeini.” Wikipedia.

“The Iranian Hostage Crisis.” Wikipedia.

“444 Days.” BBC Documentary.

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