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WTH is going on in Iran? Has anything changed 40 years after the hostage crisis of 1979?

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November 4th marked the 40-year anniversary of the Iranian hostage crisis, when a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans captive for 444 days. Four decades later, has the Islamic Republic of Iran changed its ways? And what role does the hostage nightmare continue to play in US-Iran relations?

Kenneth Pollack joined Dany and Marc to explain what happened on that day 40 years ago, and how the hostage crisis set Iran on a course of enmity with the United States. The three discuss Operation Eagle Claw (the failed US rescue mission), how the crisis contributed toward President Jimmy Carter’s removal from office, and whether President Donald Trump’s Iran approach differs from those of his predecessors.

Pollack is a resident scholar at AEI, where he works on Middle Eastern political-military affairs, focusing on Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf countries. He served twice at the National Security Council and began his career as a Persian Gulf military analyst at the CIA. Pollack is the author of ten books, including “Unthinkable: Iran, the Bomb, and American Strategy” and “The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America.

Hosts:
Danielle PletkaMarc Thiessen