The Dig: Iran, 1979-1997. Islamic Republic, War, and Thermidor
Jacobin Radio
00:00
Was the Embassy Takeover a Coup?
The students themselves were certainly motivated by fears of another coup. The power brokers, the sort of small cadre of power brokers among the clerical elite that was shaping at the time used the opportunity afforded by the embassy takeover to better their position vis-a-vis their more moderate and more liberal oriented internal opponents. So we should say these forces were actually very much egging on outright confrontation with the United States.
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