On November 4, 1979, Iranian students seized the embassy and detained more than 50 Americans, ranging from the Chargé d'Affaires to the most junior members of the staff, as hostages. ... The Iranians held the American diplomats hostage for 444 days.
On April 11, 1980, President Jimmy Carter approved a military operation to rescue the remaining 52 American hostages from the hands of young revolutionaries who had seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in November 1979.
