President Jimmy Carter is burned in effigy by Iranian revolutionaries in Tehran
Posters in Tehran denouncing the Shah and mocking President Carter
Iranian leader Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and U.S. President Jimmy Carter at the White House
Iran’s new leader following the revolution and ouster of the Shah, Ayatollah Khomeini, was staunchly anti-American
The U.S.-backed Shah (King) of Iran was deposed in early 1979, after years of suppressing democratic freedoms at the expense of building military strength. An exiled religious leader, and zealous anti-American, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini soon came to power in Iran.
On November 4, 1979, Iranian college students and supporters of the Iranian revolution took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held American diplomats and staff hostage. They demanded the U.S. return the Shah to Iran to be put on trial for crimes committed during his rule.
52 of the hostages, including Wartburg College alumna Kathryn Koob, were held in Iran for 444 days.