The Lebanon hostage crisis refers to the kidnapping in Lebanon of 104 foreign hostages between 1982 and 1992, when the Lebanese Civil War was "at its height". The hostages were mostly Americans and Western Europeans, but 21 national origins were represented. At least eight hostages died in captivity; some were murdered, while others died from lack of adequate medical attention to illnesses.Those taking responsibility for the kidnapping used different names, but the testimony of former hostages indicates that almost all the kidnappings were done by a single group of about a dozen men, coming from various clans within the Hezbollah organization. Particularly important in the organization was Imad Mughniyah. Hezbollah has publicly denied involvement. The Islamic Republic of Iran is thought to have played a major role in the kidnappings, and may have instigated them. Syria also had some involvement.The original motive for the hostage-taking is thought to have been to discourage retaliation by the U.S., Syria, or other powers against Hezbollah, which is credited with the killing of 241 Americans and 58 Frenchmen in the Marine barracks and embassy bombings in Beirut. Other explanations for the kidnappings or the prolonged holding of hostages are Iranian foreign policy interests, including a desire to extract concessions from the Western countries, the hostage takers being strong allies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.The tight security measures taken by the hostage-keepers succeeded in preventing the rescue of all but a handful of hostages, and this along with public pressure from the media and families of the hostages led to a breakdown of the anti-terrorism principle of "no negotiations, no concessions" by American and French officials. In the United States, the Reagan administration negotiated a secret and illegal arms for hostage swap with Iran known as the Iran–Contra affair.The end of the crisis in 1992 is thought to have been precipitated by the need for Western aid and investment by Syria and Iran following the end of the Iran–Iraq war and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and with promises to Hezbollah that it could remain armed following the end of the Lebanese Civil War and that France and America would not seek revenge against it.

Video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.

IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS (10/27/80)

Film showing students at the University of California, Berkeley, principally in 1980. It also shows glimpses of Vietnam war era background events. Opening shows students on a college campus. Two of them sit and converse. Scene shifts to National Guard troops and police near the University of California campus, in May, 1969, when Governor Ronald Reagan declared a state of emergency and sent 2,200 National Guard troops into Berkeley, California. Next, students are seen handing out voting information from booths on the Berkeley campus during the 1980 U.S. Presidential elections. Students massed on campus and some having lively conversations with others. The entrance gates to the campus are seen in the background. Students moving about on the campus and some seated at outdoor tables having snacks and conversing. A student being interviewed who speaks about employment. Complete shift of scene to American soldiers jumping from a UH-1 Huey helicopter in Vietnam. President Richard Nixon waving enthusiastically in front of the Presidential helicopter. President Lyndon Johnson glad-handing spectators as he walks along the streets of a city. Glimpse of American hostages being taken from the embassy in Tehran, Iran, November 4, 1979 during Iran hostage crisis. U.S soldiers firing a howitzer field piece in Vietnam. Returning American hostages leaving an U.S.Air Force transport plane. A woman student being interviewed at Berkeley campus about the 1980 Presidential race between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Students seated on a long bench in a room where a picture of motion picture star, John Wayne, is displayed on a wall. A male student says Ronald Reagan has brought a new spirit into everybody in America. A Berkeley political science professor comments on the new voters. Students speaking positively about President Reagan. More views of students and voting information on campus. (Note: film is silent except for occasional interviews.) Location: Berkeley California. Date: November 1980.

00:00:00:00 SOT--(font)--doesn't expect further develompments (Iran had announced it was to make a statement on the hostage crisis-it turned out to be on the Iran Iraq war) after this Schorr and Berre ...

JIMMY CARTER

CONOCO, THE OIL COMPANY BASED IN HOUSTON, SEEMS TO BE SURPRISED ABOUT AN EXECUTIVE ORDER FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, CLARIFYING U.S. POLICY WITH IRAN. THE ORDER BLOCKS CONOCO'S BILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT TO DEVELOP IRAN'S OFFSHORE OIL FIELDS.  THE COMPANY WON'T FIGHT IT, AND SAYS IT HAS NO DESIRE TO BUCK POLICY. BUT A COMPANY SPOKESMAN WONDERS WHY, AFTER 3 YEARS OF WORKING WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT, THE ORDER COMES NOW. FELDER SAYS HE DOESN'T EXPECT LAYOFFS, BUT HE SAYS HOUSTON WON'T GET TO BENEFIT EITHER. CONOCO WAS THE FIRST U-S OIL COMPANY TO DO BUSINESS WITH IRAN SINCE THE HOSTAGE CRISIS OF 1980. THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO CRACK DOWN ON IRAN FOR SUPPORTING TERRORISM AND DEVELOPING NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

10th Anniversary of Iran Hostage crisis Original Broadcast Date: 11-1-89

IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS - DAY 221.

Scenes of Canadian ambassador to Iran Ken Taylor arriving in Ottawa after he helped Americans held hostage by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to escape through an operation known as the Canadian Caper in which he obtained Canadian passports for American hostages who posed as a Canadian film crew. Almost ten years later, the Canadian government considers re-opening its embassy in Tehran. PLEASE NOTE News anchor and reporter image and audio, along with any commercial production excerpts, are for reference purposes only and are not clearable and cannot be used within your project.

/n00:00:00:00 /nTOPIC: 20th Anniversary of US hostage crisis in Iran; also Iran today; GUESTS: Bruce Laingen; Shaul Bhakash. /n (0:00)/ /n

B-roll video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.

JIMMY CARTER

On Jan. 20, 1981, Iran released 52 Americans who had been held hostage for 444 days, minutes after the presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. The hostages were placed on a plane in Tehran as Reagan delivered his inaugural address.The New York Times said that Reagan’s address “made no reference at all to the long-awaited release of the hostages” as he was “apparently following a self-imposed restraint of not saying anything until the Americans had left Iranian air space.”Reagan announced the release of the hostages later in the afternoon at a Congressional luncheon. “The news seemed to turn the inauguration celebration, normally a highly festive occasion, into an event of unbridled joy for Mr. Reagan and his supporters,” The Times wrote.The Iran Hostage Crisis had begun on Nov. 4, 1979, when a group of several hundred militant Islamic students broke into the United States embassy in Tehran and took its occupants hostage. The students initially intended to hold the hostages for only a short time, but changed their plans when their act garnered widespread praise in Iran. Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the country’s supreme leader, was among the supporters.In response, President Carter imposed economic sanctions on Iran. In April 1980, he authorized a rescue mission, Operation Eagle Claw, conducted by the U.S. military. The mission failed badly, as two U.S. aircraft collided, killing eight military personnel.

Video footage from the NBC 5/KXAS station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story about the family of Iran hostage Robert Englemann. This story was produced for the morning news broadcast.

TODAY IN HISTORY - JANUARY (AUDIO ONLY)

Iran Hostage Crisis, TWA Hostages, Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammed, Louis Farrakhan, trip to Mecca

00:00:00:00 SOT--whitehouse Chief of Staff Jack Watson says Pres. Carter will consult Reagan about the hostage crisis, but any final decision on the matter is still Carter's. (0:00) /

MONTAGE EVENTS DURING CARTERS TERM. 1979, SOVIET INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN, IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS, ANGRY CITIZENS BURNING AMERICAN FLAG

INTERVIEW WITH FORMER HOSTAGE, MARINE CORPORAL WILLIAM ( BILLY ) GALLEGOS, FOR A NIGHTLINE SPOT ON THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN EMBASSY TAKEOVER & SEIZURE OF AMERICAN HOSTAGES BY IRANIANS IN IRAN.