US ready to make a deal over hostages?

The Herald, 23 October, 1980

LONDON. — The Iranian Prime Minister, Mr Mohammed Ali Rajai, said yesterday that the United States seemed ready to meet Iran’s conditions for release of the US hostages, the BBC reported.

The Carter administration had no immediate comment on the report, Iana Reuter-AP reports.

The BBC said Mr Rajai was reported as telling a news conference in Teheran that the United States was prepared to return the wealth of the late Shah, free Iranian assets, drop legal claims against Iran and promise not to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs.

But Mr Rajai emphasised that the ultimate decision on the hostages’ fate would be decided by the Iranian parliament, the broadcast said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mr John Trattner said the US had not been informed officially of the position reportedly outlined by Mr Rajai yesterday and, therefore, had no comment.

As fighting continued on all fronts in the Gulf war yesterday, Iraq accused President Carter of trying to use the fighting to win re-election in the November 4 election.

A front-page editorial in the official AI-Thawra newspaper, which clearly had the stamp of approval from the highest level of the Iraqi establishment, said Mr Carter was planning to exchange arms and weapons for the 12 hostages.

This editorial underlined increasing concern in Baghdad that the US and Iran were about to conclude a deal at Iraqi’s expense, giving Iran weapons to throw out Iraqi troops now occupying its territory.

On the war front, Iraqi sources in Basra near the main combat zone said that Iraqi guns were pumping heavy calibre shells into the blazing refinery complex of Abadan.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

This Iran hostage crisis began on November 4, 1979, when Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran and took 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage.

The hostage crisis had lasting effects on US-Iran relations, leading to decades of mistrust and hostility. This event marked a significant turning point in US-Iran relations but did not resolve underlying tensions.

Throughout the hostage crisis, various attempts were made to negotiate the release of hostages. These negotiations often involved intermediaries and were complicated by geopolitical factors, including US support for Iraq during its war with Iran and broader Cold War dynamics.

Time is an essential element in handling hostage situations. It allows negotiators to establish communication, build rapport, and create conditions that may lead to the captors’ fatigue or change of heart regarding their demands. The longer the situation lasts, the more opportunities there are for negotiation.