How long were hostages held in iran

Among those arrested and exiled was a popular religious nationalist and bitter foe of the United States, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Between and , the Shah spent billions of oil dollars on military weapons. The real price of military strength was the loss of popular support. On January 16, , the Shah fled Iran, never to return. Donald A. Sharer, 40, Chesapeake, VA. Rodney V.

Rocky Sickmann, 22, Krakow, MO. Marine Guard Staff Sgt. Joseph Subic, Jr. Tomseth, 39, Springfield, OR. Ward, 40, Culpeper, VA. Administrative officer One hostage was freed July 11, , because of an illness later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis: Richard I. Queen, 28, New York, NY.

Vice consul Six American diplomats avoided capture when the embassy was seized. Consular officer Mark J. Lijek, 29, Falls Church, VA.

Consular officer Cora A. Lijek, 25, Falls Church, VA. Consular assistant Henry L. Stafford, 29, Crossville, TN. Consular officer Kathleen F. Stafford, 28, Crossville, TN. Consular assistant Thirteen women and African-Americans among the Americans who were seized at the embassy were released on Nov. Secretary Sgt.

Ladell Maples, 23, Earle, AR. William Quarles, 23, Washington, DC. Administrative officer Capt. Air Force administrative manager Sgt.

Secretary Cpl. Wesley Williams, 24, Albany, NY. Marine guard Eight U. Richard L. Bakke, 34, Long Beach, CA. Air Force Sgt. Harvey, 21, Roanoke, VA. Marine Corps Cpl. George N. Holmes, Jr. In , a congressional bill carved out a fund to compensate victims of state sponsored terrorism. The fund is designed to help two groups: those who have secured final judgments in a U.

Yet only a small percentage of that money has come through, according to their attorney, Thomas Lankford. For Morefield, whose husband passed away in , what matters is the acknowledgment that the hostages were victims of state-sponsored terrorism. She and her husband were able to move on from their experience, she said, but the turmoil left its traces: Richard never slept through the night and often woke up afraid. He had trouble sleeping in rooms with closed doors, a vestige of the time he was thrown into a cell in Iran and locked behind a steel door.

Still, I hope it happens. Morefield said her husband followed U. I grew up thinking we will never be friends with Japan The hostages were released in , after the Algerian government helped to broker an agreement between the U.

The Algiers Accords contained a provision, however, that barred the hostages from taking legal action against Iran in U. The attorney who administered the payouts to former hostages and their families, Kenneth R.

I think they are right about that. Representing the United States abroad has been a dangerous job since the beginning of the Republic, but that was never truer than during the Carter Administration.

In the wake of a successful revolution by Islamic fundamentalists against the pro-American Shah of Iran, the United States became an object of virulent criticism and the U. Embassy in Tehran was a visible target. The Iranians held the American diplomats hostage for days.