Hostage-taking at the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980

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The hostage-taking in the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980 ( English Iranian Embassy Siege , German: Siege of the Iranian Embassy ) was an action carried out by Arab terrorists . The occupation and hostage-taking was ended by storming the building with Operation Nimrod , a company operated by the Special Air Service (SAS), the UK's best-known military special unit . The events went through the world news and some of them were broadcast live . The successful liberation of the embassy brought the SAS worldwide attention.

background

At around 11:30 a.m. on the morning of April 30, 1980, a group of six hostage-takers calling themselves the Democratic Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Arabistan occupied 16 Princes Gate building in South Kensington in central London . Initially they demanded autonomy for the oil-rich Khuzestan region in southern Iran ; later they called for the release of 91 of their like-minded people from Iranian prisons. Of the 26 hostages, five were released in the following days.

Police negotiators tried to appease the hostage takers by providing them with food and cigarettes. Even so, the terrorists threatened to shoot a hostage in a statement broadcast by the BBC . The group's Iraqi liaison officer had promised them that the Jordanian ambassador would intervene to facilitate a safe escape. When it became clear that this would not happen, the situation at the embassy deteriorated. Khomeini supporters demonstrated in front of the locked embassy and offered to be exchanged for hostages.

On the sixth day of the occupation, the Iranian embassy press attaché, Abbas Lavasani, who had volunteered, was killed by the terrorists and his body was thrown out of the building. This marked the brutal escalation of the situation and strengthened Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's decision to proceed with Operation Nimrod . The order that the SAS, whose members had been trained for anti-terrorism operations, should be ordered was given in the first hours of the hostage-taking. When the first hostage was shot, London Police Chief David McNee transferred responsibility to the Department of Defense . From now on it was no longer a police operation, but a military operation.

The initially held back SAS now had to carry out a violent liberation action under the eyes of the world public. While they were moving into position, the approach altitude at London Heathrow Airport was lowered to cover their movements from the noise, and a clamor began to tear open on a neighboring street.

liberation

Fire damage to the embassy building shortly after the hostage liberation

The liberation itself began on May 5, 1980 at 7:23 pm at the rear of the building when an explosive charge exploded on a staircase, 23 minutes after the dead hostage was thrown out of the building. This was the signal for part of the SAS to rappel off the roof and storm the upper floor through the windows. At the same time, the power supply to the embassy building was cut off. At the same time, another attack team used special devices (called frame charges in English ) to remove the windows at the front of the building, setting fire to the rooms there. Meanwhile, the policeman Trevor Lock, who was on duty at the embassy as a guard, had an encounter with Salim , the leader of the gunmen. When a SAS officer appeared at the window, Lock pushed the terrorist aside, preventing him from shooting. The British command then came into the room and shot Salim. Trevor Lock later received the George Medal for this .

In the panic and confusion that followed the explosions, the hostage takers began shooting at the male hostages on the second floor. One hostage, 31-year-old Ali Samadzadeh, was killed and two others were injured. According to other hostages, the terrorists then decided to give up and toss their weapons out the window. The SAS entered the room and asked the terrorists to identify themselves. Two of the hostage takers were shot immediately. The hostages were brought out of the burning building by the SAS. In the course of this, another terrorist who allegedly carried a hand grenade was shot dead by special forces. Outside the embassy, ​​the hostages were taken to waiting ambulances. A sixth armed man, Fowzi Badavi Nejad , was discovered among them and taken away by police.

The entire Nimrod operation had taken less than 15 minutes. Five of the six terrorists were killed in the operation. One hostage died and two other hostages were injured. A SAS member, “Tak” Takavesi, was also injured by flames leaping up from the building when he got tangled in his rope, but brought the operation to an end. 19 hostages were brought to safety.

consequences

There has been some controversy over the shooting of some of the hostage-takers, particularly the two guarding the Iranian hostages. Towards the end of Operation Nimrod , the hostages persuaded them to give it up. The hostages saw them throw their weapons out the window and sit on the floor with their hands above their heads. Guns thrown out of the window and a white flag were also seen by video cameras outside. Ahmad Dadgar, one of the wounded hostages, said of the SAS:

“Then they took the two terrorists, pushed them against the wall and shot them. They wanted to finish them off. That was her job. "

He also said that "they may have had something in their pockets, but certainly no weapons in their hands at the time." This statement was confirmed by two other hostages.

Long after the hostage-taking, it was reported that the last surviving hostage-taker was led back to the building by an SAS officer after he was found among the hostages - possibly to shoot him. However, this was prevented by the media present. In a later investigation, the SAS was acquitted of any allegations. The only surviving hostage-taker, Fowzi Nejad, was sentenced to life imprisonment for participating in the hostage-taking . In 2008 he was released from prison. He lives in London.

Cultural reception

The piece Crossfire on the album A British progressive rock band Jethro Tull is about a police officer in the midst of a firefight. While working on the piece, the title of which was already determined and which, according to band leader Ian Anderson, thematically "went in this direction anyway," Anderson's wife interrupted the rehearsals to draw attention to the coverage of the hostage-taking, whereupon references to the specific event in the Text incorporated.

The 2017 feature film 6 Days by director Toa Fraser with Mark Strong and Abbie Cornish processes the release of the hostages by a SAS team on film.

literature

  • Rustiy Firmin / Will Pearson: Go! Go! Go! , Phoenix Books; London 2011, ISBN 978-0-75382-854-0
  • Gregory Fremont-Barnes: Who Dares Wins. The SAS and the Iranian Embassy Siege , Osprey, Oxford / New York 2009, ISBN 978-1-84603-395-7
  • Robin Horsfall: Fighting Scared: Para, Mercenary, SAS, Sniper, Bodyguard , Cassell 2002, ISBN 978-0-30436-461-9
  • James G. Shortt: The Special Air Service , Osprey, Oxford / New York 1981, ISBN 0-85045-396-8 , pp. 28-30
  • Peter Steinmüller: When the black men appeared on the screen , in: VDI nachrichten 18-19 / 2020, p. 27
  • Back to the mother . In: Der Spiegel . No. 19 , 1980, pp. 145 ( online ).
  • Like gentlemen . In: Der Spiegel . No. 20 , 1980, pp. 144 ( online ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Iran and the hostage-takers. BBC News , April 26, 2000, accessed May 1, 2020 .
  2. ^ Adrian Addison: Dilemma for Clarke over Iranian embassy siege survivor. The Guardian , February 20, 2005, accessed October 27, 2008 (End of Jail Report for Fowzi Nejad).
  3. ^ A b Peter Taylor: Six days that shook Britain. The Guardian, July 24, 2002, accessed October 27, 2008 .
  4. ↑ Urmee Khan: Iranian Embassy terrorist pictured in London days after jail release. The Daily Telegraph , November 3, 2008, accessed May 1, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Jethro Tull: Cup of Wonder annotations ( Memento from January 13, 2019 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Toa Fraser: 6 Days in the Internet Movie Database (English)