11. The Shah Was Allowed Asylum in America
Ever since his abdication in January of 1979, the shah had traveled to many countries in the unsuccessful effort to find a safe place to live. During that time, he became ill with cancer and, in October 1979, requested asylum in America on the grounds that he urgently needed medical treatment. President Jimmy Carter was faced with a difficult decision, as letting the shah in on humanitarian grounds created the risk that Americans in at the embassy in Tehran would be taken hostage. He charged his foreign policy team to decide whether admitting the shah into the country or preserving the embassy in Tehran would be a better option. The decision was to try to do both.
President Carter reluctantly allowed the shah, America’s long-time ally in Iran, to enter the country. He also decided to keep the embassy open, albeit with extra security measures in place. The prevailing wisdom was that allowing the shah into the United States would cause anti-American sentiments in Iran to explode. However, for the first couple of weeks, there was an uneasy peace on the streets of Tehran. It seemed to many that perhaps the move would pass without incident. However, those who held this view were wrong.