In Iran, the American-backed Shah had become increasingly unpopular throughout the 1970s. The Shah fled Iran in 1979, finding temporary refuge in the United States. Religious extremist Ayatollah Khomeni easily filled Iran's political and social need for a backlash against American interventionism.

Iran's 1979 Revolution had a major impact on its relationship with the United States and with the rest of the world. Whereas the Shah had guaranteed a steady supply of oil to the United States in exchange for "economic and military aid," the Ayatollah Khomeni did not ("The Hostage Crisis in Iran"). The situation created a second oil crisis and subsequent inflation. Moreover, the Iranian Revolution soured American relations with the nation when on November of 1979, Iranian militants "stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and took approximately seventy Americans captive," ("The Hostage Crisis in Iran"). The hostage scenario symbolized the rise of terrorism and specifically, anti-American...
[ View Full Essay]