Our Man in Tehran The True Story Behind the Secret Mission to Save Six Americans during the Iran Hostage Crisis & the Foreign Ambassador Who Worked w/the CIA to Bring Them Home

by WRIGHT, ROBERT

• ISBN13: 9781590514139
• ISBN10: 1590514130
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-01-11
• Publisher: Other Press

Summary

Much of Iran's relationship with the West--and their mutual antipathy--stems from the muddled events of a single day: November 4, 1979, when Iranian militants overran the U.S. embassy in Tehran, launching a 444-day-long hostage drama.

What's often forgotten is that six Americans evaded their would-be captors and were protected and eventually extracted from Iran by Canadian diplomats. In this fascinating account of spycraft and compassion, Wright (Three Nights in Havana) puts newly unclassified documents to excellent use in recounting how Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor hid the Americans who had slipped out a side door and gathered intelligence for the U.S. government.

Wright sketches the historic grievances that lay at the heart of the embassy takeover and dispels lingering myths--among them, that the occupiers were "idealistic student amateurs"--crafting an absorbing story of genuine heroism and suspense.

Author Biography

Robert Wright, PhD, is a professor of history at Trent University, specializing in foreign policy. He is the author of Three Nights in Havana, which won the 2008 Lela Common Award for Canadian History from the Canadian Authors’ Association and is currently being made into a feature documentary. He resides in Toronto with his wife and children. Visit him at http://www.robertwright.ca/

Table of Contents

Preface	p. XI
Prologue	p. XVII
Tehran
The Unlikely Ambassador	p. 3
A Toast to the Shah	p. 17
Revolution
The Downward Spiral	p. 39
The Overthrow of the Shah	p. 58
Ayatollah Khomeini in Power	p. 71
Fateful Decisions	p. 90
Hostages and Houseguests
Marg bar Amrika!	p. 107
On the Run	p. 125
Diplomatic Maneuvers	p. 140
Coming in from the Cold	p. 153
Walking Laps in the Ballroom	p. 173
Stalemate	p. 186
Intelligence
This Is War	p. 209
A Close Call	p. 222
Exfiltration
The Canadian Plan	p. 243
Passports and Visas	p. 258
The Flight of the Houseguests	p. 273
Aftershocks
Thanks, Canada	p. 291
Fallout	p. 310
Yellow Ribbons	p. 325
Epilogue: Our Man in New York	p. 341
Abbreviations	p. 347
Notes	p. 348
Select Bibliography and Filmography	p. 387
Index	p. 395
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Carter’s reciprocal state visit to Iran occurred over New Year’s Eve 1978, a one-night stop on a nine-day tour of the Middle East. The president’s critics liked to say that he had a knack for bringing trouble down on himself, and on this occasion they were dead right. During a lavish banquet for the president, the shah introduced Carter by speaking of Americans’ “high ideals of right and justice, moral beliefs in human values.” Ignoring his advisers’ suggestion that he respond with understatement, Carter answered with an equally obsequious speech. “Iran, because of the great leadership of the shah,” said Carter, “is an island of stability in one of the more troubled parts of the world. This is a great tribute to you, your majesty, and to your leadership, and to the respect and admiration and love which your people give to you.” Broadcast throughout Iran and around the world, the president’s body language conveyed at least as much as his words. Speaking extemporaneously, his face intensely sincere, one hand in his suit-coat pocket, the president turned and faced the shah directly when he spoke of the love of the Iranian people. Coming from a man renowned for his monotonous speeches and his Southern Baptist reserve, it was unexpected, unscripted, and eartfelt. It was, in short, a bombshell. And in Iran it changed everything.