The answer is: The hostages were freed in 1981 after Reagan’s inauguration.
The hostage crisis when 52 of the united states diplomat were detained by Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line.
As soon as Reagan elected, he start a negotiation with Iranian embassy to solve the issue without any military confrontation. As an effort to shows goodwill to the new president, Iranian government freed the hostage after Reagan's inauguration.
A couple good questions would be: (assuming it's an experiment) Can it be redone with the same result and can the information being used be cited. Hope it helps!
