A History of Bad Blood

WASHINGTON - By his own admission, US ambassador John W Limbert's ordeal as a captive during the Iranian hostage crisis began with a monumental failure of negotiation. "




In 1979, somebody thought it would be a good idea to the let the Shah [of Iran] into the US for medical treatment, despite - I must say - the very eloquent and well-stated advice of our charge d'affairs at the time, Bruce Langein, who told Washington in no uncertain terms what he thought about the idea," said Limbert, during a talk at the government-funded think-tank the United States Institute of Peace. He is now charge d'affairs of the American Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan.




Limbert and 51 other US diplomats were held captive for 444 days until their release on January 20, 1981. Since the embassy siege, Iran and the US have remained in a state of "no war, no peace". Enmity and mistrust run deep, with each side accusing the other of past misdeeds. An oft-told Washington joke goes something like this:



Iranian: "Will you guys get over 1979?"


American: "Sure, only if you get over 1953."


Iranian: "Never."



In 1953, the Central Intelligence Agency backed a coup d'etat to oust democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadeq and return the Shah to the Peacock Throne.

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This article discusses the ancient conflict between the United States and Iran. Though the conflict is over 50 years old, little has improved between the two countries.