1979 Embassy Attack, 'Argo': Latest Clash Not 1st Time US-Iran Ties Plummeted

As explosions rang through several Iran cities on Saturday morning, US-Israel strikes killed 40 students at a school in Minab. US President Donald Trump, while urging the Iranian people to "claim their freedom", recounted the past incidences when the Iranian regime chanted "Death to America".

"Among the regime's very first acts was to back a violent takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran. In 1983, Iran's proxies carried out the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 American military personnel. In 2000, they knew and were probably involved with the attack on the USS Cole," he said.

Here is a look at one of the earliest incidents that spelt a plummet in US-Iran ties and later went on to inspire an espionage thriller 'Argo':

At a time Iran was witnessing an Islamic revolution eventually leading to the overthrow of its ruler Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, a mob of protestors escalated their months-long protest outside the US Embassy in Tehran, forcefully entered the compound and took 66 American citizens hostage in February 1979.

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Pahlavi's closeness to a succession of US Presidents fuelled the protestors' anger, leading to the siege. Their demands in return for hostages' release were the return of Pahlavi, who was in the US, and the declaration of his assets as stolen property, apart from a halt in US interference in Iran's affairs.

Strong US stances, intervention by international bodies and a global glare did not deter the protestors as negotiations continued through 1980 and 1981, spanning the terms of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. During the course of the negotiations, many hostages were released, wounded or killed. The breakthrough came in January 1981, minutes after Reagan's inauguration, when all remaining hostages were released. The last of the hostages to be released were held captive for 444 days.

During this time, a specific incident involving the escape of six American diplomats with Canadian assistance inspired the 2012 film Argo.