Talk:Iranian Embassy siege

Iranian Embassy siege is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so.

This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on April 30, 2014.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
August 2, 2011	WikiProject A-class review	Approved
August 23, 2011	Featured article candidate	Promoted

Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on April 30, 2011, May 5, 2013, May 5, 2016, May 5, 2020, May 5, 2023, and May 5, 2024.

Current status: Featured article

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A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

Iranian embassy perpetrators.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 21:08, 7 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion:

Iranian embassy siege perpetrators.jpg

You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 14:23, 2 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Commons files used on this page or its Wikidata item have been nominated for speedy deletion

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Ownership of land and building

Who owns the land and building now? Was it part of the claims and counterclaims conference? Surely it makes no sense for the US to still own it and pay annual dues? Just curious. 2001:8003:A070:7F00:94:BE6E:B276:D146 (talk) 06:06, 10 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Abbas Lavasani was not a strong supporter of the Iranian revolution

Hello,

Abbas Lavasani was my grand-uncle (brother of my maternal grandfather) and I know from my mum and my grandfather's stories about that incident that despite coming from a religious family, he was not a "supporter", let alone "a strong supporter of the Iranian Revolution of 1979".

I can further elaborate on this: Although my grandfather's family is religious (my great-grand-father had the religious rank of an Ayatollah, like Khomeini) they (like most pre-revolution religious families) never supported Khomeini's way of un-secularizing the state, mixing religion and politics. My grand-father, being the eldest son, was first pushed to step into my great-grandfathers shoes, but during his process to become a religious figure himself, he refused and chose to work in Abu Dhabi in the diplomatic choir (my mum went there to kindergarten and elementary school) . That is where my grand-uncle Abbas got his inspiration. Since Abbas was the youngest brother, he joined the diplomatic choir in a much younger age and at a later time, so he was able to get the job as the Chief Press Officer at the Embassy (prior to the revolution).

Both my grand-father and my grand-uncle (and all other siblings) were religious people but not fanatic. They condemned the state that was about the be built. Nvdnkpr (talk) 18:45, 9 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Edit: The reason why he volunteered was because he was the only staff member not being married and/or having kids. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nvdnkpr (talk • contribs) 18:47, 9 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Unclear about live broadcast

My personal recollection was that the SAS operation was filmed live but actually broadcast in a live bulletin after the fact. Live TV had caused a counter terrorism operation to fail at the Munich olympics and that was well known by 1980. At least one source I found asserted a broadcast delay by instruction to the press.

There’s no inline citation for the live broadcast claim; can anyone verify exactly how ‘live’ the broadcast was? SLR Ellison (talk) 09:04, 1 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I remember watching it live, just as described—and cited—in the article. If there was a delay, it was seconds. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 19:24, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Contradictory statements about Iranian government comments

The article says both:

The Iranian government welcomed the end of the siege, and declared that the two hostages killed were martyrs for the Iranian Revolution. They also thanked the British government for "the persevering action of your police force during the unjust hostage-taking event at the Embassy".

and:

The Iranian government declared that the siege of the embassy was planned by the British and American governments, and that the hostages who had been killed were martyrs for the Revolution.

Perhaps both are true and some time elapsed between them? Can we clarify? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 18:07, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Pigsonthewing Hi Andy, always good to cross paths with you! Both statements are certainly true. Relations weren't particularly warm between the British and Iranian governments but the Iranians were even less keen on the Arabs who perpetrated the siege. As the article says, British-Iranian relations soured in the years following the siege. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:14, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@HJ Mitchell: And you! So, when did the Iranian Government say thank you, and when did they make the accusation? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 20:28, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]