15. American Diplomats Ignored the Rebellion
In 1979, the American embassy in Tehran was one of the largest embassies in the entire world. It had a total staff of about 2000 people to oversee both the day-to-day duties of the embassy and to help manage relations between Iran and the United States. America’s support of the shah seemed to be completely unwavering, particularly given the shah’s desire to modernize Iran made the country the largest purchaser of American military supplies. The diplomats ignored the protests that were occurring on a weekly basis and continued as if nothing would change. For all they could see, the shah was indomitable; the shah was Iran.
The American diplomats, both in Tehran and Washington, didn’t realize that Iran was a country in rebellion against its leader. More than that, they didn’t know that the Iranian people would not relent in their resistance against what they believed were oppressive policies but also that there was a radicalization of Islamic beliefs occurring behind the scenes. One thing that they were entirely not ready to deal with was the religious fervor of what would come to be known as radical Islam. Many diplomats involved in the hostage crisis acknowledged in retrospect that at the time, they had no idea what they were truly up against.