Iran hostage crisis in the context of "CV-22 Osprey"

There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, following Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.

The first sanctions were imposed by the United States in November 1979, after a group of radical students seized the American Embassy in Tehran and took hostages. These sanctions were lifted in January 1981 after the hostages were released, but they were reimposed by the United States in 1987 in response to Iran's actions from 1981 to 1987 against the U.S. and vessels of other countries in the Persian Gulf and US claims of Iranian support for terrorism. The sanctions were expanded in 1995 to include firms dealing with the Iranian government.

The Embassy of the United States of America in Tehran (Persian: سفارت آمریکا در تهران) was the American diplomatic mission in the Imperial State of Iran. Direct bilateral diplomatic relations between the two governments were severed following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and the subsequent seizure of the embassy in November 1979.

The Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line (Persian: دانشجویان مسلمان پیرو خط امام Dânešjuyân-e Mosalmân-e peyrov-e Khatt-e Emâm), also called the Muslim Students of the Imam Khomeini Line, was an Iranian student group that occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979. The students were supporters of the Islamic Revolution who occupied the embassy to show their support for Ayatollah Khomeini and their outrage that the ex-Shah of Iran was admitted to the United States for cancer treatment, instead of being returned to Iran for trial and execution. The occupation triggered the Iran hostage crisis where 52 American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days.

Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been accused by several countries of training, financing, and providing weapons and safe havens for non-state militant actors, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and other Palestinian groups such as the Islamic Jihad (IJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). These groups are designated terrorist groups by a number of countries and international bodies such as the EU, UN, and NATO, but Iran considers such groups to be "national liberation movements" with a right to self-defense against Israeli military occupation. These proxies are used by Iran across the Middle East and Europe to foment instability, expand the scope of the Islamic Revolution, and carry out terrorist attacks against Western targets in the regions. Its special operations unit, the Quds Force, is known to provide arms, training, and financial support to militias and political movements across the Middle East, including Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen.

A number of countries (Argentina, Albania, Australia, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, India, Kenya, Sweden, Thailand, United States) have accused the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of plotting assassinations or bombings in their countries and others against perceived enemies of Iran. In response, economic sanctions against the Iranian regime have been imposed by many countries and the United Nations. The first sanctions were imposed by the United States in November 1979, after a group of radical students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took hostages. The sanctions were expanded in 1995 to include business dealings with the Iranian government. However, these sanctions have not significantly impacted the country's relationships with its proxies. The United States Department of State estimated that Iran spent more than $16 billion in support of the Assad regime and its proxies between 2012 and 2020, a period in which Iran funneled more than $700 million to Hezbollah.

A constitutional referendum was held in Iran on 2 and 3 December 1979. The new Islamic constitution was approved by 99.5% of voters.

The referendum was held by the Council of the Islamic Revolution, because Bazargan's Interim Government—which oversaw the previous referendum—had resigned in protest to the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis.

The first inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th president of the United States was held on Tuesday, January 20, 1981, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the first inauguration to be held on the building's west side. This was the 49th inauguration and marked the commencement of Ronald Reagan's and George H. W. Bush's first term as president and vice president, respectively. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the presidential oath of office to Reagan, who placed his hand upon a family Bible given to him by his mother, open to 2 Chronicles 7:14. Associate Justice Potter Stewart administered the vice presidential oath to Bush.

At 69 years, 349 days of age on Inauguration Day, Reagan was the oldest person to assume the presidency until Donald Trump's first inauguration in 2017, at the age of 70 years, 220 days. While the inauguration was taking place, the 52 Americans being held hostage in Iran were released.

Diplomatic law is that area of international law that governs permanent and temporary diplomatic missions. A fundamental concept of diplomatic law is that of diplomatic immunity, which derives from state immunity.

Key elements of diplomatic law are the immunity of diplomatic staff, the inviolability of the diplomatic mission and its grounds, and the security of diplomatic correspondence and diplomatic bags. Famous cases involving the breaking of diplomatic laws includes the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, the shooting of a British police woman (Murder of Yvonne Fletcher) from the Libyan Embassy in London in 1984, and the discovery of a former Nigerian Minister in a diplomatic crate at Stansted airport in 1984.

The 1980 presidential campaign of Ted Kennedy, United States Senator from Massachusetts, was formally launched on November 7, 1979, as Senator Kennedy, the youngest Kennedy brother, announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 1980 presidential election against incumbent President Jimmy Carter.

Kennedy benefited from President Carter's historically low approval ratings, reminiscing of his brothers' presidency and presidential campaigns, and support from the liberal faction of the Democratic Party. However, disorganization and ineffective campaigning allowed Carter to bridge the 2-to-1 polling gap following a rise in his approval rating due to his initial handling of the Iran hostage crisis.