The Iranian hostage crisis was a 1979 incident in which a group of Iranian students took several American diplomats and workers hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. They demanded that the United States return the former Shah, who was ousted earlier that year in the Iranian Revolution but faced criminal charges in Iran. Over 444 days, the United States and Iranian governments struggled to negotiate an agreement that would see the hostages freed and Iran’s concerns about American influence assuaged. In fact, the peace talks went badly until Iraq invaded Iran, creating pressure for Iran to resolve the crisis. Ultimately, Iran and the United States negotiated an agreement with the help of the Algerian government, which acted as a mediator. The hostages were freed in January 1981, but American-Iranian relations have been sour ever since. Getting to Yes author Roger Fisher played a notable part in shaping the final agreement. The book cites the crisis to illustrate the importance of understanding the other side’s perspective and interests.
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Iranian Hostage Crisis Term Timeline in Getting to Yes
The timeline below shows where the term Iranian Hostage Crisis appears in Getting to Yes. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2: Separate the People from the Problem
One memorable example of intercultural miscommunication occurred during the Iranian hostage crisis , when a U.N. leader presented himself “as a mediator [looking] to work out a...
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Chapter 3: Focus on Interests, Not Positions
...and why they have not already agreed to one’s requests. The authors look at the Iranian hostage crisis and note that it was in the hostage-takers’ best interests to keep the hostages as...
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Chapter 8: What If They Use Dirty Tricks? (Taming the Hard Bargainer)
...tactics.” One side can simply refuse to negotiate, like the Iranian government did during the Iranian hostage crisis . It is important to see that this is part of the negotiation—namely, it is...
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