current head and then in 1969 radical islam explodes. in iran, there was revolution. enraged by the repressive rule of the american-backed shah, popular protests drove him out. [ chanting ] reporter: angry mobs seized the american embassy. for 444 days, the united states watched helplessly as americans were held hostage. but there are indications tonight that a large number of armed shiite muslims reporter: at exactly the same time, november, 1979, cataclysm in saudi arabia. the takeover of the grand mosque in mecca.
wallace called her back and said, no, i can t find anybody. she said, just one or two people. he said, no, you don t understand. nobody wants to have dinner with him. no, that s right. and actually that made them you remember the first dinner that the reagans had when he announced for the presidency, november 1979 for exactly that reason, she said, let s have it in new york. that s where they don t have people. guess where they had it? it was the ballroom of new york hilton which last night went down in history for something zblels so what historical precedence do you set last night? no one is going to argue this is andrew jackson, but jackson was the first president who said i m going to go after the elites and bring power to people who are suffering all across the country, including in nashville where willie went to college. and also, you know, the mid 1930s. people forget that even after three years of franklin roosevelt there was still almost 20% unemployment.
embassy is seized and more than 60 american citizens are held in as hostages and in an attempt to enforce unacceptable demands on our country. that can affect the safety of the hostages and secure release. along with families of the hostages, i have welcomed and appreciated the restraint that is shown by americans in this crisis. we must continue restraint. and despite the intensity of our emotions. the lives of our people in iran are at stake. president jimmy carter in november 1979 just days after an event that left lasting images and impressions for generations. 36 years ago today iranians stormed our embassy and took hostages. blind folded americans put on display by the islamic regime.
change his clothes or love school. he chose to go home. not changing. they will not let me wear a shirt that supports people free. i am not support them. i would have done the same thing. alan plans to do a research to learn more about the soldier memorial that is featured on his shirt. 444 days. that is how long washington post reporter has been behind bars in an iranian prison. that is as long as the americans in the hostage croisis were held in november 1979 to january 1981. the washington post pointing out the crime milestone. and joins me with more. and martin, what is it that they are doing to highlight jason s
think it was that phrase the cart before the horse like maybe we should have talked about these hostages before we had the nuke deals. how do you feel? first of all, i believe that they have been working on this at the state department at the white house from the very beginning. and it s a real heartbreak because i followed this story levinson about seven or eight years. i ve been to their home, met their family. i know his brother. and of course the pastor i know his wife and seen pictures of his children. so i know how this is a very important issue. but i also believe as tough as it has been for these four is that the white house has been trying to get them home. but you re not dealing with someone who is very helpful. iran is horrible. they kept all our hostages from the take over november 1979 until the day that jimmy carter left office. in fact president reagan was delivering inaugural address and they were putting the hostages on the plane out of tehran for the united states