Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo
Skybird - am not trying to nitpick, but I do want to correct something you said. The hostages were NOT released hours after Reagan won the election. Presidential elections are held November 5th in the US. The hostages were released 6 minutes after Reagan was SWORN IN - which always occurs on January 20th. This is roughly 75 days after Reagan won the election.
The timing actually SUPPORTS the idea that there was no negotiations between Iran and any US group over the election. Between the election and being sworn in, Reagan still had no ability to order an action. The moment his oath was done, he could act.
In fact, sources indicate that there was a plan approved of by Reagan to immediately deal with the Iranians and the hostages, that was waiting for the go word. It is also indicated that the "transition team" as it is called, let the Iranians know that hell would break lose if the problem wasn't immediately dealt with.
The Iranians - aka Komeine, feared that US action wouldn't stop with a simple hostage recovery, but rather a restoral of the Shah. Lose something - or lose everything was the choice they faced.
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With the timing you are right. However, it was not without american favours in return, the freezed Iranian financial assets of Iran were released one day later.
Regarding Khomenei, I remember it differently, and one of the links above supports what I said on Bani-Sadr and Khomenei.
The story is not to be explained one way or the other, with all certainity, one can only take the many hints and observations and statements from different sources and different people, assess the one against the other, and then see which pan of the scale goes up and which goes down. I think the pan with the "conspiration theory" weighs heavier, and quite many being in better knowledge of the events also say so: more speaks for the theory than speaks against it.
For that practical reason I base on it being true.