00:00:00
[Music]
00:00:01
this man changed the
00:00:05
world he took Iran and made it an
00:00:08
inspiration for a new uncompromising
00:00:10
strand of Islam our bosses couldn't cope
00:00:14
with the idea of an 80-year-old
00:00:17
Ayatollah which they didn't even know
00:00:19
what an Ayatollah was who lived on
00:00:21
garlic and onions and yogurt directing a
00:00:24
revolution that was about to topple
00:00:26
America's most important
00:00:28
Ally
00:00:34
his Iran broke all the rules of
00:00:39
diplomacy it Unleashed forces the West
00:00:42
still cannot
00:00:45
handle it has undermined the West's hold
00:00:47
on the Middle East Iran is deliberately
00:00:51
causing maximum problems Iran is a
00:00:54
threat to world peace I will do
00:00:56
everything in my power to prevent Iran
00:00:58
from obtaining a new nuclear
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weapon everything in my
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[Applause]
00:01:07
[Music]
00:01:09
[Applause]
00:01:09
[Music]
00:01:14
power this series tells the inside story
00:01:18
of how for 30 years Iran has baffled and
00:01:21
defeated Western
00:01:28
leaders
00:01:39
Ayatollah ruhala Ki spent 14 years
00:01:42
banished from his native
00:01:44
Iran from neighboring Iraq he waged a
00:01:47
holy war against the Sha of
00:01:51
Iran in the Autumn of 1978 Iraq's leader
00:01:55
Saddam Hussein presented the Sha with a
00:01:58
startling choice
00:02:25
the Sha was
00:02:27
cautious in those days we thought that
00:02:29
if somebody get rid of Ki he will become
00:02:33
like a martyr and he become even
00:02:37
greater Muhammad Resa palavi had ruled
00:02:40
Iran for almost 40
00:02:43
years
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sh he lived in a world apart from his
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people he was kept in power by a vicious
00:02:56
security service and the fifth largest
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army on Earth equipped with American
00:03:02
Weaponry he ignored calls for
00:03:06
democracy he let the nation's vast oil
00:03:09
wealth go only to the
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few he promoted Western culture enraging
00:03:15
millions of
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Muslims many groups resented the Sha
00:03:23
they came together under H's
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Banner
00:03:56
for the Sha's government banned public
00:03:59
gather
00:04:00
[Applause]
00:04:04
gings during one rally in Teran troops
00:04:07
shot more than a 100 demonstrators
00:04:11
[Applause]
00:04:18
[Music]
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dead
00:04:32
from Iraq Imam H was causing havoc in
00:04:35
Iran the Sha declined saddam's offer to
00:04:38
kill him but agreed to his being
00:04:40
expelled Ki sought refuge in
00:04:58
Kuwait
00:05:16
Ki chose never to visit Paris even
00:05:19
though he set up home 18 miles
00:05:21
[Music]
00:05:23
away a supporter lent him a house in the
00:05:26
village of Nerf
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chatau
00:05:30
word went out to his followers around
00:05:32
the
00:05:32
[Music]
00:05:45
[Music]
00:05:53
worldi was now in Easy reach of the
00:05:55
world's
00:05:58
media
00:06:11
so there is no alternative to
00:06:17
fighting H's success in stoking the
00:06:20
revolution embarrassed the French
00:06:22
President an ally of the
00:06:24
[Music]
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Sha
00:06:30
[Music]
00:06:41
president jar sent the official
00:06:42
responsible for high-profile forign
00:06:44
visitors to issue a warning to the
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ayatolla
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for
00:07:47
for in fact her's house was a veritable
00:07:51
production line copying and distributing
00:07:53
his
00:07:55
pronouncements in Iran anyone carrying
00:07:58
H's words risked
00:08:18
arrest the whole country ground to a
00:08:20
halt when strikes begun by the left
00:08:23
received her's
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blessing the military commanders Drew up
00:08:28
proposals to to end the
00:08:58
chaos
00:09:16
for America was caught off
00:09:20
guard for 30 years the Sha had stood
00:09:24
shoulder-to-shoulder with American
00:09:25
Presidents against the spread of
00:09:27
Communism and anti-western movement in
00:09:29
the Middle East Iran because of the
00:09:33
great leadership of the Sha is an island
00:09:37
of
00:09:39
stability in one of the more troubled
00:09:42
areas of the
00:09:43
world now just 10 months later President
00:09:47
Carter's words rang
00:09:50
Hollow the question is beginning to
00:09:53
arise how long the present government
00:09:55
here can last with almost daily fighting
00:09:58
on the streets
00:09:59
supposed to be it was a question the
00:10:01
American ambassador and his Deputy
00:10:03
needed to
00:10:07
[Music]
00:10:09
answer we were invited to this party we
00:10:12
both went around quite separately
00:10:15
talking to the various generals and
00:10:18
Admirals when I asked General rabid how
00:10:22
things were going he said no problem at
00:10:24
all so I went over to Admiral
00:10:27
habibah and I asked the same penetrating
00:10:30
question how are things
00:10:42
going here we were the country was in
00:10:45
turmoil and there was not one
00:10:49
significant mention of political
00:10:51
problems
00:10:53
disorder or
00:10:56
anything I could not sleep that night in
00:11:00
the morning I hustled over to the
00:11:02
Embassy I went in I said um Mr
00:11:05
Ambassador this is not going to work he
00:11:08
smiled and he threw to me a pile of a
00:11:11
yellow line paper with his with writing
00:11:13
on it and top was thinking the
00:11:16
unthinkable the ambassador's report to
00:11:19
Washington spelled it out the Sha's
00:11:22
regime was in
00:11:25
Peril the president called an emergency
00:11:28
meeting
00:11:30
our presumption was that the United
00:11:32
States policies would be better off uh
00:11:35
if the Sha did stay in power we were
00:11:38
concerned that if sha Falls the whole
00:11:41
thing could become extremely unstable
00:11:43
not just in Iran but in the
00:11:45
region but over how to save the Sha the
00:11:49
President's advisers were
00:11:52
divided secretary Vance and I both felt
00:11:55
that the best chance the Sha had to
00:11:57
maintain his position was to go the
00:12:00
direction of Reform to have early
00:12:02
elections to take human rights steps
00:12:05
that would endure would gain the
00:12:08
confidence of his people you first
00:12:10
reestablish order thereby asserting your
00:12:13
Authority and the shortly thereafter
00:12:16
initiate reforms having proven that
00:12:18
you're in charge brinsky felt we should
00:12:21
make it very clear to the shaw that we
00:12:23
would not object in any way if he
00:12:25
decided to really crack down very hard
00:12:27
and use what inski came to call the Iron
00:12:31
Fist the message to the Sha was not
00:12:34
clear it urged him simultaneously to get
00:12:37
tough with the protesters and to offer
00:12:39
them
00:12:39
concessions the Sha summoned the
00:12:50
Ambassador Ambassador Sullivan had to
00:12:52
say I have no instructions on this your
00:12:55
majesty which left the the the Sha very
00:12:58
very
00:12:59
[Music]
00:13:09
[Music]
00:13:12
confused the King of Kings went on TV
00:13:15
and embraced the
00:13:27
revolutionaries
00:13:44
the Sha announced that he and his family
00:13:46
would soon be taking an extended
00:13:49
holiday the Americans decided they had
00:13:52
to
00:13:52
act Our intention was to make sure that
00:13:56
the Sha's support was firm
00:13:59
and to make sure that Iran didn't come
00:14:01
apart I said to the president that we
00:14:03
ought to explore the question of what
00:14:05
will be the behavior and the attitude of
00:14:07
the Iranian military President Carter
00:14:10
turned to a general who had served in
00:14:13
Iran my structions were
00:14:16
to um give United States assurances to
00:14:20
the military of Iran that we would
00:14:22
support them his mission was to go out
00:14:24
and see if the Iranian military had the
00:14:27
stomach to attempt to coup and to
00:14:29
suppress the
00:14:31
revolution the general had to get the
00:14:33
military to defend the throne while the
00:14:35
Sha was
00:14:49
away you had to have plans you know the
00:14:53
immediate thought of these generals and
00:14:55
Admirals was to do what you're talking
00:14:58
about the they take control but when I
00:15:00
ask how they were
00:15:15
speechless in his Haste The American
00:15:17
General had failed to pay the usual
00:15:19
courtesy call on the
00:15:27
Sha
00:15:41
for he cautioned me and only as a Shaw
00:15:45
could do and you'd have to know him and
00:15:47
see him looking at you through his
00:15:49
glasses with his penetrating look that I
00:15:52
should not forget who the king of kings
00:15:54
was I saw him only
00:15:57
once when he accompanied the American
00:16:01
ambassador to come and inquire about the
00:16:04
date of my departure and even the hour
00:16:06
of my
00:16:08
departure that's what I discussed with
00:16:10
General
00:16:12
Heiser before his holiday the Shar
00:16:15
appointed a new prime minister a
00:16:17
moderate and former opponent of his
00:16:19
regime shapur
00:16:22
baktiar I hope that we can settle all
00:16:26
dispute and misunderstanding between the
00:16:29
king and the nation we
00:16:34
hope soon after the Sha and his wife
00:16:37
left
00:16:38
[Music]
00:16:46
Iran I had to take a little tranquilizer
00:16:50
I usually never took tranquilizers but I
00:16:52
had to take one not to cry or to feel
00:16:57
sad
00:17:09
[Music]
00:17:12
for on that uh plane I was looking back
00:17:16
and thinking is it the last time I'm
00:17:20
seeing my
00:17:23
[Music]
00:17:27
land the Sha had fled a popular Uprising
00:17:31
once before in
00:17:33
[Applause]
00:17:36
1953 then America and Britain had
00:17:38
engineered a coup which put him back on
00:17:40
the
00:17:43
throne now Western leaders were at a
00:17:46
summit in the
00:17:47
Caribbean this time they agreed the Sha
00:17:49
was a lost cause and their only hope for
00:17:52
a pro-western Iran was his new Prime
00:17:55
Minister President Carter asked
00:17:58
president jar to help persuade heri to
00:18:01
keep away from
00:18:27
Iran
00:18:57
for
00:19:27
foree Hai called on his supporters in
00:19:30
Iran to give the soldiers
00:19:34
[Applause]
00:19:44
flowers many soldiers were conscripts
00:19:46
and followers of heri they deserted in
00:19:49
droves the revolutionaries set up
00:19:52
reception centers to receive
00:19:57
them
00:20:21
for a section of the military was
00:20:24
determined to stop Hai by any
00:20:27
means
00:20:46
for in France her's advisers agonized
00:20:49
over the right moment to
00:20:57
return
00:21:27
for
00:21:34
[Music]
00:21:36
I will not forget the hospitality of the
00:21:39
French government and the French
00:21:43
people and their sense of
00:21:46
[Music]
00:21:48
Liberty during the flight a German TV
00:21:51
reporter was allowed into H's private
00:21:54
[Music]
00:21:57
cabin
00:22:22
Romania and
00:22:24
G BR and uh
00:22:29
sadic tabatabai a favorite relative of
00:22:32
heri was being entrusted with the draft
00:22:34
Constitution that embodied H's vision
00:22:37
for an Islamic Republic of
00:22:39
Iran it was a dangerous
00:22:56
document
00:23:11
[Applause]
00:23:12
[Music]
00:23:13
[Applause]
00:23:15
they needn't have worried as he came
00:23:18
down the steps Hai brought 2,500 years
00:23:21
of monarchy in Iran to an
00:23:26
end
00:23:33
for the man given the honor of driving
00:23:36
heri had taken on more than he bargained
00:23:53
[Applause]
00:23:56
for well
00:24:01
[Applause]
00:24:04
[Music]
00:24:26
for her's people parted the crowd so a
00:24:30
helicopter could come and rescue him
00:24:32
from his own
00:24:34
[Music]
00:24:45
[Applause]
00:24:54
[Music]
00:24:55
followers the revolutionaries now
00:24:57
attacked police stations and military
00:25:10
bases each time they captured One They
00:25:13
seized more
00:25:18
weapons after 10 days the baguer
00:25:21
military Chiefs
00:25:26
met
00:25:38
for they argued through the
00:25:56
night
00:26:07
next morning one of H's left tenants
00:26:09
took a phone
00:26:26
call
00:26:36
[Music]
00:26:37
the Sha's prime minister fled the
00:26:39
country many of the Sha's Inner Circle
00:26:42
were summarily
00:26:43
executed the part that was difficult I
00:26:47
must say on the nerves was getting up
00:26:49
and look at the morning paper and to see
00:26:51
people that you'd known for a long time
00:26:54
just lying on a slab with bullet holes
00:26:57
throughout their
00:26:59
body America feared its Embassy could
00:27:02
become a Target it reduced its staff
00:27:04
from over 2,000 to under 100 then the
00:27:07
Sha asked if he could settle in
00:27:10
America I advise strongly against an
00:27:13
early admission of the shaw I warned
00:27:15
that if we did it was such a sensitive
00:27:18
matter that there could be considerable
00:27:20
violence demonstrations agitation
00:27:23
against the United
00:27:25
States President Carter
00:27:29
agreed my presumption was that I would
00:27:32
not let him come into the United States
00:27:34
I argued that he should be allowed
00:27:36
because we treated him as an ally in
00:27:38
good times and I felt it was our
00:27:41
responsibility to treat him as a former
00:27:43
Ally but a friend in bad
00:27:46
times the president said well let me ask
00:27:49
you one question if we do this and as
00:27:54
some
00:27:55
fear our
00:27:58
uh employees in our Embassy in Iran are
00:28:02
taken
00:28:03
hostage then what will your advice
00:28:06
be and and the room fell
00:28:09
dead and he said I thought
00:28:13
[Applause]
00:28:15
so meanwhile Hai was fulfilling his
00:28:18
dream Iranians voted by referendum to
00:28:21
make Iran an Islamic Republic the new
00:28:25
government called for the Sha to be sent
00:28:27
back to stand
00:28:29
trial country after country refused him
00:28:32
entry so for months he wandered the
00:28:34
globe then he appealed again to
00:28:37
President
00:28:38
Carter one afternoon I got a message
00:28:41
that the Sha was confirmed to have
00:28:44
terminal cancer and asked me if he could
00:28:47
come in to New York for uh diagnosis and
00:28:51
treatment the Sha had kept his cancer
00:28:53
secret for 4 years his doctors had told
00:28:57
his wife wife but she too never
00:28:59
mentioned it even to her husband I had a
00:29:02
feeling that he didn't want anybody to
00:29:05
know and I wanted to respect his
00:29:09
wish that is why I I never asked him
00:29:13
this time Carter agreed to admit the
00:29:16
Sha America's man in tran informed
00:29:19
foreign minister
00:29:20
yasdi he had advised strongly for months
00:29:25
before that about the difficulty of any
00:29:28
kind of gesture toward the shaw or his
00:29:31
family I was well aware of
00:29:47
that I will never forget the words he
00:29:50
gave me we will do our
00:29:52
best he did not say we will guarantee
00:29:56
your security he said we will do our
00:30:11
best Iran's foreign minister was on his
00:30:14
way to alers for Independence Day so was
00:30:17
Carter's top adviser Dr
00:30:20
binski urged foreign minister yasi to
00:30:22
have a talk with with brazinski I knew
00:30:25
what that might mean if would Elevate
00:30:29
the dialogue up to a point where it
00:30:34
[Music]
00:30:36
mattered after the celebrations they met
00:30:39
in pinsky's
00:30:41
Suite I told him that first of all we
00:30:45
had no
00:30:46
designs and to use the Sha against the
00:30:49
new regime in
00:30:51
Iran as I remember I pointed out to him
00:30:53
that the Sha was an ill
00:30:56
man
00:31:05
for I didn't see the need for any
00:31:08
procedure of this sort which would be in
00:31:10
a
00:31:11
sense negatively reflecting on the
00:31:13
veracity of the US
00:31:26
government
00:31:29
passenger a small group of students now
00:31:32
took Center
00:31:33
Stage what they did next would poison
00:31:36
relations between Iran and the West to
00:31:38
this
00:31:41
[Music]
00:31:49
day the student leader arranged to meet
00:31:51
four colleagues at Teran
00:31:56
University
00:32:23
one who opposed was Mahmud Ahmed dad
00:32:26
Iran 's future
00:32:43
president clerics and Communists had
00:32:46
been allies of convenience in the
00:32:48
revolution ammad feared the Communists
00:32:51
gaining
00:32:54
ground the three who wanted to seize the
00:32:57
American Embassy went ahead without him
00:33:00
they approached a cleric close to
00:33:21
heri 72 hours later students gathered
00:33:25
outside the embassy
00:33:43
at first this demonstration seemed to me
00:33:45
to be an
00:33:46
interruption that it was going to really
00:33:49
mess us up on getting our timetable you
00:33:52
know it's amazing how you don't worry
00:33:53
about the right things at the wrong time
00:33:57
and then when it it happened very
00:33:59
quickly these HS started to scale the
00:34:04
[Applause]
00:34:08
walls the acting Ambassador was told
00:34:11
just after leaving a meeting in the
00:34:12
foreign
00:34:13
Ministry I had to turn around rather
00:34:15
quickly and go back to the M Foreign
00:34:18
Ministry find help from where it
00:34:20
mattered and that was the foreign
00:34:22
minister
00:34:25
himself
00:34:34
for I said I know you warned me against
00:34:37
this but we've got I need
00:34:40
help only Ki could sort this out but he
00:34:44
was in the holy city of K and he was
00:34:47
taking his daily
00:34:55
nap
00:34:58
[Applause]
00:34:59
by now hundreds of students had entered
00:35:01
the embassy compound vastly outnumbered
00:35:04
the US Marines held their
00:35:08
fire they asked me what should we do and
00:35:12
I said given what you've told me the
00:35:14
degree of chaos surrounds you the
00:35:16
control that has now slipped away from
00:35:19
your hands over there in the compound
00:35:20
you should surrender and I gave that
00:35:25
order
00:35:29
good evening the American Embassy in
00:35:31
tahan is in the hands of Muslim Students
00:35:33
tonight I have received assurances that
00:35:36
they will be kept safe and uh and well
00:35:39
the administration's problem is no one
00:35:41
knows whom to blame for the Takeover of
00:35:43
the embassy foreign minister yasi he
00:35:45
said the Iranian government would do its
00:35:47
best to resolve the matter the foreign
00:35:49
minister reached K and went straight to
00:35:55
heri
00:36:04
for he set off back to Tran to carry out
00:36:07
H's instruction to end The Siege at the
00:36:10
same time the students in the embassy
00:36:12
set out to get the imam's blessing to
00:36:14
continue
00:36:16
[Music]
00:36:25
it
00:36:30
[Music]
00:36:36
the cleric called H's home and spoke to
00:36:38
his friend's son
00:36:50
[Music]
00:36:53
ahmedi now used the students takeover to
00:36:56
advance his vision for
00:37:23
Iran the students paraded their cap
00:37:27
Ives I was taken outside and the hordes
00:37:31
were already out there screaming uh
00:37:33
death to the
00:37:34
hostages we were like animals in a
00:37:42
[Music]
00:37:46
zoo heni had breached the basic rule
00:37:49
that enables diplomats to work in a
00:37:51
crisis in doing so he had reversed the
00:37:54
decision he gave foreign minister Yas
00:37:57
who had been at his side since his Exile
00:37:59
in
00:38:01
Iraq the cabinet now met in emergency
00:38:05
[Music]
00:38:25
session
00:38:42
for ki's support of the students had
00:38:45
enabled him to sweep the moderates out
00:38:47
of government a month later he assumed
00:38:50
the new post of supreme leader giving
00:38:53
him in effect total
00:38:55
control
00:38:58
and the American diplomats remained in
00:39:01
captivity we send word to the ayatolla
00:39:04
that if he uh injured a
00:39:07
hostage that we would stop all commerce
00:39:11
between Iran and the outside world by
00:39:14
blockading their sea ports and so forth
00:39:16
we didn't go into detail and if he
00:39:18
killed any hostages that I would respond
00:39:20
with military action is Iran now in
00:39:24
effect at war with the United
00:39:31
[Music]
00:39:32
States what do you mean by
00:39:35
War if you mean our armies against the
00:39:39
United States
00:39:41
armies no there is no such
00:39:44
War if you mean it is a battle of
00:39:48
nerves it is Carter's
00:39:51
doing but if the
00:39:54
president says
00:39:56
he refuses to return the
00:39:59
Sha and if the Imam
00:40:02
says he will not free the
00:40:07
hostages then what what can be the
00:40:14
answer he will not disc he's not even
00:40:17
going to listen to
00:40:18
it rebuffed all America's efforts to get
00:40:21
the hostages released 3 months after the
00:40:24
embassy takeover America imposed
00:40:26
sanctions on Iran freezing its us assets
00:40:29
and banning its oil
00:40:47
[Music]
00:40:49
imports they had two or three different
00:40:52
interrogations teams that worked me over
00:40:55
I was beaten I was hung by my wrist
00:40:58
marched into trees and yeah of course
00:41:00
with a blindfold on they'd tie me up
00:41:03
like a pretzel and come in about every
00:41:05
15 minutes give me a couple of good
00:41:07
Swift kicks pull me to my feet and ask
00:41:09
me a bunch of stupid questions good
00:41:12
evening for the first time since the
00:41:14
Iran Crisis began 40 days ago President
00:41:17
Carter has indicated a glimmer of hope
00:41:19
in the conference hopes were false and
00:41:21
news channels gave a daily reminder of
00:41:23
the embassy Siege the Sha finished his
00:41:26
medical treatment and left America but H
00:41:30
still refused to release the
00:41:32
hostages seen around the world as a an
00:41:36
America no longer capable of dealing
00:41:40
with her real problems it humbled the
00:41:43
administration in dealing with problems
00:41:45
at home it had a profound prevailing
00:41:49
devastating uh paralyzing impact upon
00:41:52
our
00:41:53
government I don't know how much longer
00:41:55
we can sit here and uh see them kept
00:41:59
captive while the situation around them
00:42:02
does uh deteriorate he saw our honor at
00:42:05
stake he knew that we had to act and he
00:42:08
said so we began to figure out how we
00:42:11
could extract the hostages from from the
00:42:16
Iranians their rescue plan would test
00:42:18
America's Armed Forces to the
00:42:22
Limit it required 14 aircraft to cross
00:42:26
hundreds of miles of
00:42:28
Iran after refueling in the desert eight
00:42:31
helicopters would fly Commandos to Teran
00:42:34
where they would storm the embassy a
00:42:36
second group would seize an Airbase
00:42:38
outside the city from here the hostages
00:42:41
would be flown
00:42:45
home the plan was known only to the
00:42:47
president and a few of his top
00:42:50
advisers the Secretary of State s Vance
00:42:53
was
00:42:55
skeptical
00:42:57
one day I remember he said Fritz the
00:42:59
rescue mission won't work and I said Sai
00:43:03
how can you say that I he said I say it
00:43:06
because I was on the armed services
00:43:08
committee staff for years I was over in
00:43:10
the defense department for years I've
00:43:13
been around him a lot this will not
00:43:16
work when the secretary of state was out
00:43:18
of town Carter summoned his top
00:43:22
advisers we decided to have a a national
00:43:25
security meeting
00:43:27
Vance was was in
00:43:30
Miami Christopher Warren Christopher was
00:43:33
his representative the president turned
00:43:34
to me and asked me to review the
00:43:36
Diplomatic options of course the meeting
00:43:39
had taken me totally by surprise the
00:43:41
subject was so secret that secretary
00:43:43
Vance had never been able to share with
00:43:45
me the possibility of a rescue and so I
00:43:49
just dug into the back of my head and
00:43:51
tried to review what the Diplomatic
00:43:53
options were at the present time all the
00:43:55
principles including myself recommended
00:43:59
that we proceed that the Diplomatic and
00:44:01
other options were not working and we
00:44:04
voted unanimously to proceed with the
00:44:07
rescue
00:44:09
mission to get the Commandos in and all
00:44:12
52 hostages out required six
00:44:17
helicopters for safety they sent
00:44:25
eight the Precision was made earlier
00:44:28
that if we didn't have enough
00:44:29
helicopters to bring all our hostages
00:44:31
out that we wouldn't bring any because
00:44:33
the ones remaining would un to be
00:44:38
assassinated from an aircraft carrier in
00:44:40
the Arabian Sea the helicopters flew
00:44:42
more than 500 mil into
00:44:46
Iran keeping low to avoid radar they
00:44:50
flew into a
00:44:51
sandstorm two developed faults when the
00:44:55
others reached the the desert rendevu to
00:44:57
refuel a third was found to be
00:44:59
damaged that left only
00:45:03
five at that point we decided to
00:45:05
withdraw and we left all our equipment
00:45:07
there and and brought our people
00:45:10
home as they took off to leave a
00:45:13
helicopter collided with the refueling
00:45:15
aircraft the president was immediately
00:45:20
informed I was with the president when
00:45:23
we got the call and the president said
00:45:26
uh have there been lives
00:45:29
lost and I saw his face turn
00:45:33
white and he said I feared that five
00:45:37
airmen and three Commandos died in the
00:45:40
crash a human tragedy and in election
00:45:44
year a political
00:45:48
disaster Congress still knew nothing
00:45:50
about the mission it was the vice
00:45:52
president's job to inform its leaders
00:45:54
before they heard the morning news
00:45:57
you can imagine those very painful
00:45:59
conversations awaken from a dead
00:46:02
sleep uh being told this and said what
00:46:05
what what are we doing where when how
00:46:08
did we get into this what do you mean
00:46:10
lives lost I went on television the next
00:46:13
morning beginning at 6:00 I believe to
00:46:16
tell the American people what happened
00:46:18
and it was all my
00:46:19
fault it was my decision to attempt the
00:46:23
rescue
00:46:24
operation it was my decision to cancel
00:46:27
it when problems developed in the
00:46:30
placement of our Rescue Team for a
00:46:32
future rescue
00:46:34
operation the responsibility is fully my
00:46:49
own although crowed the Islamic
00:46:52
Republic's own armed forces were in
00:46:54
disarray Carter's sanctions stopped them
00:46:57
obtaining spare parts the Sha's generals
00:47:00
had fled or been
00:47:04
executed Saddam Hussein saw an
00:47:24
opportunity the Islamic Republic was
00:47:27
surrounded by hostile states to protect
00:47:30
itself it needed sanctions lifted Hai
00:47:33
was persuaded to open talks with
00:47:36
America his negotiator met president
00:47:39
Carters on neutral ground in West
00:47:54
Germany
00:47:59
I was really quite surprised he was a
00:48:01
very good-looking Dapper man in a sport
00:48:04
code and flannel slacks and so he looked
00:48:07
very
00:48:12
[Music]
00:48:24
Americanized
00:48:31
for with respect to the funds that we
00:48:34
had Frozen in the United States I told
00:48:36
him we had about $5.5 billion Frozen and
00:48:39
we're prepared to assemble those assets
00:48:42
and return them to
00:48:49
Iran on day two they ran into their only
00:48:51
sticking point the Sha's personal
00:48:54
Fortune deposited in in American
00:49:17
[Music]
00:49:20
Banks I said look we have a real problem
00:49:23
there under our con Constitution we
00:49:25
simply can't give back assets that are
00:49:28
claimed by
00:49:39
others it was September 22nd
00:49:42
1980 it looked as if Carter could get
00:49:45
the hostages home in time to boost his
00:49:46
chance of reelection in
00:49:52
[Music]
00:49:54
November
00:50:02
for the next day Iraq invaded Iran
00:50:07
70,000 troops crossed the border
00:50:09
launching a war which would last 8 years
00:50:12
and leave a Million
00:50:16
Dead Iran's leaders broke off the talks
00:50:19
with America they suspected Washington
00:50:22
was behind the
00:50:23
invasion they were not to toally wrong
00:50:26
we were warned that the invasion was
00:50:28
imminent A source told me that he'd just
00:50:31
been in Iraq where he'd been meeting
00:50:33
with Saddam Hussein and his senior Iraqi
00:50:35
generals and that the Iraqis were going
00:50:38
to invade Iran uh this was of course big
00:50:41
news and quite an intelligence coup for
00:50:44
us America did nothing to stop the
00:50:47
invasion in fact though it had no
00:50:50
diplomatic relations with saddam's Iraq
00:50:52
it allowed help to reach
00:50:54
him we understood that what we were
00:50:57
telling Saudi Arabia and Jordan about
00:51:00
our perceptions of the state of the
00:51:02
Iranian military would be passed to
00:51:06
Iraq how powerful did we think their
00:51:09
armored forces were could they operate
00:51:12
their tanks could they operate their
00:51:13
surface to air missile networks these
00:51:16
were the types of information that we
00:51:17
would provide to our our friends and
00:51:20
which we expected they would pass on to
00:51:23
Iraq 6 days into the war with Iraq's
00:51:27
forces in Iran and still advancing the
00:51:29
UN Security Council called for a
00:51:31
ceasefire but made no demand for Iraq to
00:51:34
withdraw giving Iranians a grievance
00:51:37
that rankles to this
00:51:54
day
00:52:18
foran badly needed weapons but could not
00:52:21
buy them as long as it held the American
00:52:23
diplomats captive its Parliament voted
00:52:26
to resume the negotiations with
00:52:30
America but the news reached Carter too
00:52:32
late to save him from defeat in the
00:52:34
presidential
00:52:37
election I promised you four years
00:52:40
ago that I would never lie to
00:52:43
you so I can't stand here tonight and
00:52:45
say it doesn't
00:52:46
hurt he now determined to get the
00:52:49
hostages home in the two months left
00:52:51
before Ronald Reagan took
00:52:54
office the negotiations moved to Algeria
00:52:58
the final sticking point was $9.5
00:53:00
billion of Iranian government Assets in
00:53:02
American Banks Frozen by the US
00:53:05
government when its Embassy was
00:53:07
seized I said to the foreign minister
00:53:10
the most we can assemble is $7.9 billion
00:53:14
and I think it's in their interest to
00:53:15
accept that because dealing with
00:53:17
President Reagan might be much more
00:53:19
difficult than dealing with us it was
00:53:22
the Americans final
00:53:24
offer after two days and two nights of
00:53:27
negotiation I'd gone back to my room to
00:53:29
shower and I got a call from the foreign
00:53:32
minister saying I think we have an
00:53:34
acceptance so I went back and signed and
00:53:38
the clothes I'd been wearing for 3
00:53:40
days but Iran would not release the
00:53:43
hostages until America delivered the
00:53:45
money and Carter was leaving office in
00:53:48
36
00:53:49
hours there were immense technicalities
00:53:52
that had to be dealt with banks in like
00:53:54
three different four different countries
00:53:56
uh all of these escrow accounts and we'
00:53:59
just about come to the conclusion that
00:54:00
nothing could possibly be done they were
00:54:03
just going to have to deal with the next
00:54:05
Administration I never went to bed at
00:54:07
all I stayed up and I I was in charge of
00:54:10
every detail of the agreement that ought
00:54:12
to be kept firm the $7.9 billion of
00:54:15
Frozen Iranian Assets Now held in banks
00:54:18
around the world still had to be
00:54:20
retrieved I see so I'll one of the key
00:54:23
ones was the bank of England because
00:54:25
they were holding about $2 billion of of
00:54:27
gold bullion that was owned by Iran tell
00:54:31
them I would like to know from the
00:54:33
president of chairman of the bank of
00:54:34
England why they have held up our
00:54:36
hostage we had to get Mr Stater to agree
00:54:40
to let that two billion be in the pot
00:54:42
okay so the bank of England has
00:54:44
certified their
00:54:45
depository right on man that's great
00:54:48
that's great that was one obstacle
00:54:50
overcome there were
00:54:53
more suddenly
00:54:55
the lines went dead nothing was
00:54:58
happening we found out that there was a
00:55:01
US Treasury official who didn't like the
00:55:03
deal whose signature was necessary to
00:55:07
move the papers forward who went home so
00:55:11
president of the United States he said
00:55:13
this person is fired and so we got we
00:55:17
got past that the hostages had been held
00:55:20
for 15 months often in solitary
00:55:23
confinement 2 hours before Reagan's
00:55:25
inauguration they were
00:55:27
assembled we were all
00:55:30
blindfolded I can remember my irritation
00:55:33
with one of the hostage takers who were
00:55:35
pushing us on the
00:55:37
bus uh cuz we were always being pushed
00:55:40
around the hostages tore off their
00:55:42
blindfolds and saw they were on the road
00:55:44
to the
00:55:45
[Music]
00:55:48
airport in Washington the vice president
00:55:51
and president prepared to leave for
00:55:53
Reagan's inauguration
00:55:55
[Music]
00:55:56
that's as I left the Oval Office there
00:56:00
was Gary
00:56:01
sick sitting by the president's chair in
00:56:05
his own smaller chair on the phone
00:56:09
waiting to see if there's any news about
00:56:11
the hostages I was listening with one
00:56:14
ear to the reports coming out of Teran
00:56:18
about what where the hostages were and
00:56:19
what was going
00:56:21
on the hostages reached Teran Airport
00:56:27
prodded poked at screamed at by dozens
00:56:32
of Hostage takers prison guards between
00:56:36
the bus and the ramp up to the
00:56:40
aircraft we hadn't seen each other for
00:56:42
444 days all of us uh embracing each
00:56:45
other getting to know each other again
00:56:48
but the planes sat on the
00:56:51
runway Carter was despairing because he
00:56:56
had hoped at least to get these hostages
00:57:00
home uh while he was
00:57:03
President we rode in a limousine to the
00:57:06
capital for the inauguration ceremony I
00:57:09
had uh direct communication obviously
00:57:11
with our intelligence around the
00:57:15
world I talked to him while he was in
00:57:18
the car said that the hostages were
00:57:21
apparently at the airport but we had no
00:57:23
evidence that anything it happened
00:57:26
repeat after me I Ronald Reagan do
00:57:28
solemnly swear I Ronald Reagan do
00:57:31
solemnly swear that I will Faithfully
00:57:34
execute the office of President of the
00:57:36
United States that I will Faithfully
00:57:38
execute the office of President Carter
00:57:40
left for home still no
00:57:44
news roughly 5 minutes after I was no
00:57:46
longer president the secret service
00:57:48
agent came down and whispered in my ear
00:57:51
that the hostages were
00:57:52
free they deliberately delayed its
00:57:55
release until maybe 20
00:58:00
seconds after Reagan had been sworn
00:58:05
in it is not often that a foreign leader
00:58:08
humiliates and helps secure the electral
00:58:11
defeat of an American
00:58:12
[Music]
00:58:21
president ayatollahi had laid down a
00:58:24
pattern of intransigence that continues
00:58:26
to this
00:58:28
day and still bamboozles the
00:58:35
[Music]
00:58:42
West on BBC 4 now an absorbing insight
00:58:46
into life inside modern Teran raggi Omar
00:58:49
reveals the hopes and fears of the
00:58:51
upcoming generation from a pop star to a
00:58:54
renowned to journalist and staff at a
00:58:56
drug rehab
00:58:58
[Music]
00:59:00
center
