5. Operation Nimrod 1980
On April 30th 1980, six heavily armed men entered the Iranian Embassy in London. 26 people were taken hostage including embassy staff, visitors and one police officer. The armed men were part of an Iranian Arab group called the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan. The group demanded the release of prisoners that were held by the Iranian government.
At first British were willing to talk and negotiate with the hostage takers. They met small demands, such as airing their demands on television, and secured the release of five hostages. Then on the 6th day, the terrorists executed a hostage and threw his body out the window. The British decided that no more negotiations would take place and they sent in the Special Air Service (SAS), a highly trained and secretive regiment of the British Army.
The SAS abseiled down from the roof of the embassy and broke into the embassy through the windows. They stormed the embassy for a total of 17 minutes. One hostage was killed during the assault but the other hostages were rescued. Five of the terrorists were killed in the attack and only one was captured, he served 27 years in British prison.
The outcome of the mission was largely seen as a success, though the embassy did sustain some damage. The British and Iranian governments argued for ten years over who was responsible for repairing the damage. Eventually Britain decided to repair the Iranian Embassy and Iran would repair the British Embassy in Iran. The Operation also brought worldwide focus to the SAS with other countries requesting SAS assistance in training their own special forces. There was also a substantial influx of applications to join the SAS as British citizens were inspired by the bravery and heroism that they had seen on TV.