Original version

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

Witness History

Podcasts

Factual: Life Stories

Factual: History

History as told by the people who were there

History as told by the people who were there.

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service East Asia

Witness History: Iran Hostage Rescue Mission

Documentaries

Op Eagle Claw1.JPG

31/01/2019 GMT

Iran Hostage Rescue Mission

BBC World Service - Witness History, Iran Hostage Rescue Mission

The US sent special forces to try to rescue hostages from their Embassy in Tehran in 1980

The US sent special forces to try to rescue hostages from their Embassy in Tehran in 1980.  But the mission ended in disaster before they reached the Iranian capital.

In April 1980, the US launched Operation Eagle Claw - a daring but ultimately disastrous attempt to free dozens of hostages held captive in the US Embassy in Tehran. The rescue mission ended in tragedy almost as soon as it began. Rob Walker spoke to Mike Vining, a member of the US special forces team in 2015. 

This programme is a rebroadcast

(Photo:Special forces troops returning from the failed mission. Credit: US Army)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Witness History

Iran Hostage Rescue Mission

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

About BBC World Service