Khamenei in Recently Released Remarks: Most of Those Who Seized the US Embassy Went and Apologized

The leader of the Islamic Republic criticized that most of the students who occupied the US embassy in Iran after years "talked to the Americans and apologized" and considered this action a sign of their "shallow motivation." According to ILNA news agency, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated in remarks made on January 16, the text of which was published on January 27, that "we do not take this lightly, but often, one by one, individuals - I do not say all - went to the den of espionage out of emotions and courageously took it, but later went and talked to the Americans and apologized." He added, "What is this due to? It is due to the shallow nature of that motivation. That motivation was not based on a solid foundation; there was motivation, but its foundation was not strong." Khamenei also referred to Mohsen Hojaji, an Iranian force killed in Syria, adding, "Today’s youth - [although] some [of them] walk carelessly in the streets; they were there during the war, not that they weren't - but that [youth] who goes after duty understands what he is doing." The remarks of the leader of the Islamic Republic regarding the "apology" of the students who occupied the US embassy come while no report has been published about these students apologizing to the US or the hostages taken. In only one case, Abbas Abdi, one of the influential students in the occupation of the US embassy, met with Barry Rosen, one of the hostages, in Paris in 1998. Barry Rosen, the press attaché of the US embassy in Tehran at the time of the hostage crisis, said after this meeting that Mr. Abdi apologized to him. However, Abbas Abdi denied this and stated in a note that he is not in a position to consider the issue, whether right or wrong, personally to apologize based on it. Meanwhile, the newspaper Etemad reported on November 3, 2016, that among the students who occupied the embassy, some, like Ebrahim Asgarzadeh, consider that behavior "wrong," while others, like Mohsen Mir-Damadi and Abbas Abdi, still defend that action. According to this newspaper, Abbas Abdi stated in a speech that "the atmosphere demanded the occupation of the embassy." Mr. Abdi also said, "I am not a fool to defend my actions at 20 years old in my 60s. I do not defend that event by today’s standards; that event occurred in its own circumstances." Masoumeh Ebtekar, an active student in the US embassy hostage crisis, also stated in May 2013 that "the students at that time did not feel any regret about the action they took in the hostage crisis at all." She emphasized that "according to the students following the line of Imam, this decision was the best thing that prevented harm to the Islamic Revolution." Meanwhile, John Limbert, the second secretary of the US embassy in Tehran during the hostage crisis, said in an interview with Radio Farda that if these students apologize, it is good, but an apology does not advance the matter. He emphasized, "They should come to look at the truth. They should not deceive themselves and say they did a good job. They should see the reality and say their actions were wrong and ugly and harmful to Iran and against Iranian culture. What I had never seen until that time was that an Iranian would mistreat a guest who was responsible for his security. In a culture where this act is ugly." Most of the students influential in the occupation of the US embassy joined the group known as Islamic Left and later the reformists, holding positions in the government of Mohammad Khatami and other institutions. Habibollah Bi-Taraf, Minister of Energy, Masoumeh Ebtekar, head of the Environmental Protection Organization, Ebrahim Asgarzadeh, former parliament member and member of the first city council of Tehran, and Rahman Dadman, Minister of Roads and Transportation of Khatami’s government, who was killed in a plane crash, are among them. Abbas Abdi and Ebrahim Asgarzadeh also have a history of imprisonment in the prisons of the Islamic Republic. In contrast, according to some reports, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was a member of the Office for Strengthening Unity at that time, opposed the occupation of the US embassy and called for the occupation of the Soviet embassy instead. Among them, Mohammad Naeimi-Pour, a student member of the Office for Strengthening Unity, said about this: "In the central council of the Office for Strengthening Unity, which had just begun its work, the issue of occupying the US embassy was raised. In that gathering, Mr. Ahmadinejad, the representative of the University of Science and Technology, and Mr. Seyednejad, the representative of the Teacher Training University, opposed and said we should first take the Soviet embassy." On January 19, 1981, fifty-two American hostages were released after 444 days of captivity. The release of the American diplomats occurred after the end of Jimmy Carter's presidency and about twenty minutes after the inauguration ceremony of Ronald Reagan, the new president of the United States. In recent years, some officials of the Islamic Republic have acknowledged the negative impacts of this action for Iran. For instance, Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament, announced on November 3, 2016, that the prolonged occupation of the US embassy in Iran caused "a face like ISIS" to be displayed from Iran, and Saddam Hussein also used Iran's "isolation" after this incident to attack Iran. Jimmy Carter, the then president of the United States, initially responded to the occupation of his country’s embassy by issuing statement number 4702 on November 12, 1979, banning the entry of Iranian oil products into the United States, and two days later issued government order number 12170, ordering the seizure of all Iranian assets in that country and with American financial institutions in Europe. Subsequently, based on the Algiers Accord, which led to the release of the hostages, part of Iran's cash deposits, including foreign exchange reserves, bonds, and gold bullion, were released, while some of them remained seized. After the Vienna nuclear agreement, claims related to Iran's military purchases from the US, along with their interest, were paid to the Iranian government. Some analysts also consider the occupation of the US embassy as effective in what they call "provoking" Saddam Hussein by the US to attack Iran.