Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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EPISODE 1: youtu.be/N8OW0aK-oaA
EPISODE 2: youtu.be/VojWVIF3HSg
Why and how was the American Embassy stormed in 1979, at the height of the Iranian Revolution? Did America respond when large numbers of American civil servants were taken hostage? And, would a science fiction film called Argo save the only 6 Americans able to escape…?
Join Dominic and Tom, as they discuss the defining event of the Iranian Revolution: the invasion of the American Embassy on the 4th of November 1979, when American citizens were taken hostage in Tehran…
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Social channels:
instagram.com/theresthistory
tiktok.com/@theresthistory
https://x.com/TheRestHistory
https://bsky.app/profile/theresthistory.bsky.social
threads.com/@theresthistory
Video Editor: Jack Meek
Social Producer: Harry Balden
Producers: Aaliyah Akude & Tabby Syrett
Executive Producer: Dom Johnson
Head of Digital & Social: Sam Oakley
00:00 Iranian Revolution explodes: the US embassy is seized
04:11 Students take hostages and ignite a global crisis
07:14 Iran after the Shah: chaos, paranoia and power struggles
12:40 Why the US embassy became the revolutionary target
18:15 The Shah in exile and Carter’s fatal dilemma
27:42 Washington misreads Tehran
29:44 4 November 1979: the embassy occupation unfolds
37:10 Carter gets the call
41:07 Khomeini embraces the crisis and crushes the moderates
47:34 America rallies, then fractures as the crisis drags on
54:15 Yellow ribbons, media frenzy and public anger
01:06:04 Carter’s wider nightmare: recession, Islamism and Soviet invasion
01:11:20 A desperate gamble: planning the hostage rescue mission
Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCUYK0BJZF3yNb2fw1EdAXUQ/join
EPISODE 1: youtu.be/N8OW0aK-oaA
EPISODE 2: youtu.be/VojWVIF3HSg
Why and how was the American Embassy stormed in 1979, at the height of the Iranian Revolution? Did America respond when large numbers of American civil servants were taken hostage? And, would a science fiction film called Argo save the only 6 Americans able to escape…?
Join Dominic and Tom, as they discuss the defining event of the Iranian Revolution: the invasion of the American Embassy on the 4th of November 1979, when American citizens were taken hostage in Tehran…
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Social channels:
instagram.com/theresthistory
tiktok.com/@theresthistory
https://x.com/TheRestHistory
https://bsky.app/profile/theresthistory.bsky.social
threads.com/@theresthistory
Video Editor: Jack Meek
Social Producer: Harry Balden
Producers: Aaliyah Akude & Tabby Syrett
Executive Producer: Dom Johnson
Head of Digital & Social: Sam Oakley
00:00 Iranian Revolution explodes: the US embassy is seized
04:11 Students take hostages and ignite a global crisis
07:14 Iran after the Shah: chaos, paranoia and power struggles
12:40 Why the US embassy became the revolutionary target
18:15 The Shah in exile and Carter’s fatal dilemma
27:42 Washington misreads Tehran
29:44 4 November 1979: the embassy occupation unfolds
37:10 Carter gets the call
41:07 Khomeini embraces the crisis and crushes the moderates
47:34 America rallies, then fractures as the crisis drags on
54:15 Yellow ribbons, media frenzy and public anger
01:06:04 Carter’s wider nightmare: recession, Islamism and Soviet invasion
01:11:20 A desperate gamble: planning the hostage rescue mission
