2011-J261

Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the ending of the Iranian Hostage Crisis on January 20, 2011

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2011-J261


LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the ending
of the Iranian Hostage Crisis on January 20, 2011

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to seek peace, with
the imperishable hope of freedom for all the Nations and peoples of the
world; and
WHEREAS, New York State remains committed to bringing to justice all
perpetrators of terrorism; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body, representing the
people of the State of New York, to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of
the ending of the Iranian Hostage Crisis on January 20, 2011; and
WHEREAS, In early 1979, conditions in Iran had started to deteriorate;
various factions were fighting to oust the Shah of Iran from power; and
WHEREAS, On January 16th, Muhammad Reza Pahlevi, the Shah of Iran
whose regime had the support of the United States, announced he was
taking a short vacation; a new government had been formed to replace his
military administration; and
WHEREAS, The main opposition force, headed by the Ayatollah Khomeini,
however, refused to join or cooperate with the new government; and
WHEREAS, Muhammad Reza Pahlevi then fled into exile but was denied
admission into the United States and subsequently, he temporarily
settled in Egypt; and
WHEREAS, Weeks later, revolutionaries loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini
seized 70 employees at the United States embassy in Tehran and held them
hostage for several hours to protest American involvement with the
Shah's regime; and
WHEREAS, As conditions in the Iranian capital grew more chaotic, the
United States government evacuated families of embassy personnel; other
Americans still in the country were urged to leave Iran immediately; and
WHEREAS, On October 22, 1979, Muhammad Reza Pahlevi was allowed to
enter the United States for gall-bladder surgery, prompting a new round
of protest in Iran; and
WHEREAS, On November 4, 1979, thousands of students, demanding the
return of the Shah, overran the United States embassy and held approxi-
mately 90 people captive; later, some were freed, including women and
non-Americans as well as Americans of African descent; and
WHEREAS, As diplomatic efforts to free the hostages began, President
Jimmy Carter halted oil imports from Iran and froze Iranian assets in
the United States, prompting yet another Iranian outburst of protest
against America; and
WHEREAS, As negotiations continued into December, Penelope Laingen,
the wife of hostage Bruce Laingen, charge d'affaires of the embassy,
tied a yellow ribbon around a tree at her home in Maryland, and a
nationwide movement began; and
WHEREAS, Millions of Americans also tied the yellow symbols of freedom
around trees in their yards; these luminous symbols remained on the
trees until the hostages came home, more than a year later; and
WHEREAS, A frustrated President Carter severed diplomatic relations
with Iran and imposed a complete economic embargo with Iran in April of
1980; and
WHEREAS, On April 24th, Operation Eagle Claw, a top-secret mission to
free the hostages, ended in disaster; at the outset of the operation, a
helicopter developed engine trouble in a staging area of the Iranian
desert; eight Americans were killed as two planes collided during the
subsequent withdrawal of United States forces; and
WHEREAS, Even the death of the Shah in July did not persuade the
Ayatollah and the students to free the hostages; and

WHEREAS, Iraq invaded Iran on September 22, 1980, and a full-scale war
ensued between the two nations, causing further problems with negoti-
ations on the hostages; and
WHEREAS, The hostage crisis played a major role in the presidential
campaign of 1980; Ronald Reagan won the presidential election on Novem-
ber 4, 1980; and
WHEREAS, Perhaps fearing the new incoming administration, Iran then
began new negotiations to free the hostages; Iranians originally asked
for $24 billion in return for the captives, but eventually lowered their
demands; and
WHEREAS, On Inauguration Day, January 20, 1981, Iran agreed to accept
$8 billion in frozen assets and a promise by the United States to lift
trade sanctions in exchange for the release of the hostages; and
WHEREAS, After 444 days in captivity, the 52 hostages flew out of
Tehran to the Wiesbaden Air Force Base in West Germany; the announcement
was made minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th President
of the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, On January 21, 1981, former President Carter, who had hoped
to greet the hostages as his last official act, flew to West Germany as
President Reagan's emissary to greet each and every one of them
personally; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the ending of the Iranian Hostage
Crisis on January 20, 2011; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the 52 former hostages and their families.

actions

  • 19 / Jan / 2011
    • ADOPTED

Resolution Details

Law Section:
Resolutions, Legislative

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