On November 4, 1979, Iranian student activists stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking over 60 Americans hostage. What was planned as a 48-hour sit-in to protest American imperialism, ballooned into an international crisis and 24/7 media event that would last 444 days. With never-before-seen archival footage and revelatory new interviews with the American hostages and Iranian hostage-takers alike, the series is a gripping chronicle of one of the most dramatic international deadlocks in American history, a deep dive into the geo-political history that led to the crisis, and an exploration of the political fallout that reverberates today.
Under the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah, Iran experiences an oil-driven economic boom, but the government’s excesses and repressive tactics lead to increasing hostility towards the monarch and his closest ally: the United States. As…
Episode 2. Part Two: Den of Spies
2022-09-28 · 59 min
November 1979. In protest of the United States’ long-standing relationship with the now-deposed Shah, an Iranian student group plans a 48-hour sit-in at the American embassy in Tehran. But what starts as a political statement quickly…
Episode 3. Part Three: The Sand Storm
2022-09-29 · 60 min
With 1980 fast approaching, and the crisis nowhere near ending, the situation takes on a life of its own in American and Iranian media. After diplomatic efforts to secure the hostages’ release fail, and their fates become more dire,…
Episode 4. Part Four: The Transaction
2022-09-29 · 60 min
A year into the siege, Carter works furiously to secure a deal as the 1980 U.S. presidential election approaches. As Ronald Reagan prepares to take office, the outgoing administration enters a final, desperate diplomatic push. Today,…
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