On November 17, the Office of the State Department Historian released its records on the hostage affair. Students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 to protest the Carter administration’s decision to take in the ailing former shah for medical treatment. Student leaders later said their intention was to hold the embassy for a few days, but 52 Americans ended up being held for 444 days. U.S.-Iran relations have never recovered from the crisis. The U.S. records were categorized into five topics. This piece covers the first category on U.S. responses, with links to the other four topics:
- First Responses (full report below)
- Options
- Negotiations
- Rescue Mission
- Covert and Overt Operations
Related Material: “The Carter Administration”
First Responses
2. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
6. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
7. Letter From President Carter to Ayatollah Khomeini
8. Record of a National Security Council Meeting
10. Intelligence Information Cable Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency
11. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
13. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
14. Record of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
15. Memorandum From the White House Chief of Staff (Jordan) to President Carter
18. Intelligence Cable Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency
19. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
20. Intelligence Information Cable Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency
24. Paper Prepared by the Interagency Group
25. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
26. Intelligence Memorandum Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency
34. Memorandum From Director of Central Intelligence Turner to President Carter
35. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
36. Paper Prepared by the Joint Staff
38. Intelligence Memorandum Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency
40. Report Prepared by the Interagency Group
42. Paper Prepared in the Department of State
43. Memorandum From Ambassador Eilts to President Carter
45. Telegram From the Consulate in Frankfurt to the Department of State
46. Message From the Chargé d’Affaires in Iran (Laingen) to Secretary of State Vance
47. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
49. Memorandum From Director of Central Intelligence Turner
50. Paper Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency
51. Minutes of a National Security Council Meeting
52. Message From the U.S. Government to the Iranian Government
54. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee (Intelligence) Meeting
55. Memorandum Prepared by the Iran Task Force, Central Intelligence Agency
56. Memorandum From the White House Chief of Staff (Jordan) to President Carter
59. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
60. Memorandum From Secretary of State Vance to President Carter
63. Memorandum of Conversation
66. Memorandum From Secretary of State Vance to President Carter
67. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
68. Memorandum From Director of Central Intelligence Turner to President Carter
70. Summary of Conclusions of a Special Coordination Committee Meeting
73. Paper Prepared in the National Foreign Assessment Center, Central Intelligence Agency