The Iran Hostage Crisis was a diplomatic standoff between the United States and Iran that lasted for 444 days from 1979 to 1981. It began when a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 American diplomats hostage. The students demanded that the U.S. return the deposed Shah of Iran, who had fled to the U.S. after being overthrown in the Iranian Revolution. The U.S. refused to comply with the demand, and the crisis dragged on for over a year.
The hostages were finally released on January 20, 1981, just minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the new U.S. President. The release was part of a deal that had been negotiated by the Carter administration but was not finalized until Reagan took office. The hostages' release came at a steep cost, as the U.S. had to agree to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets and pledge not to interfere in Iran's internal affairs. The crisis had a lasting impact on U.S.-Iran relations and contributed to the perception of the U.S. as a hostile and meddling power in the Middle East.