IRGC Commander admits the U.S. hostage-taking in 1979 was with the order of the regime’s Supreme Leader order

Mohammad Ali Jafari made an unexpected and historic confession. The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander admitted on November 4^th, that the decision to take more than 60 US hostages from the US embassy in Tehran in 1979 had been approved by Khamenei himself.

Jafari’s remarks came as he spoke at an event to mark the anniversary of the crisis, which took place on November 4^th, 1979.

The 1979 Hostage Crisis

The hostages were taken when a crowd of Iranian students stormed the US embassy and took more than 60 Americans hostage over US President Jimmy Carter’s decision to allow the recently ousted Shah to travel to the US for cancer treatment.

Beyond the Shah’s cancer treatment, the hostage crisis was a protest against Western governmental inference in Iran.

The students held the hostages for 444 days, only releasing them on January 21, 1981, after President Reagan had replaced Jimmy Carter.

New Light on a Historic Event

The statement by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) says “Only a handful of the officials and revolutionary figures, and on top of them, the supreme leader, (Khamenei), were totally in support of this revolutionary move,” and if the hostage-taking had not taken place, “undoubtedly our revolution could not last for forty years and it would have been over in the first decade,” Jafari added.

At the time, the attack on the embassy was depicted as spontaneous and opportunistic and the perpetrators merely overzealous students. However, Jafari indicated that this was not the case.

Jafari went on to suggest that without the events of November 4^th, 1979, the Iranian regime would not have been able to cement its grip on power, and the regime would never have lasted until today. He said if it wasn’t for the hostage situation, “undoubtedly our revolution could not last for forty years… it would have been over in the first decade”.

 Could it Be Repeated?

Jafari’s comments are a cause for concern. He concluded his speech by implying that Iran would benefit from a similar high-profile situation like the 1979 hostage crisis. He said, “similar moves, of course not taking over embassies, this is not what I mean, but this sort of moves, should be conducted for creating stability”.

Jafari’s comments only further illustrate concerns long-held by the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK), the Iranian opposition; that the regime relies on sewing destruction and violence to stay in power.

The statement by the NCRI concludes: “Jafari’s remarks is a clear acknowledgment that the clerical regime has always found the solution in hostage-taking, creating crisis and havoc, export of terrorism, and belligerence and it plans for these acts at the highest levels.”

Staff Writer