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**Zpxbawtz** · 04-03-2007, 11:43 PM

Actually, I remember seeing an interview with Jimmy Carter years and years ago. He was talking about that time period, and had gotten word that the hostages would be released. It was just a short time before Reagan's inauguration (hours? Maybe a day? My memory isn't perfectly clear on that). Rather than make the announcement, Carter held the information so that it wouldn't distract from Reagan's day.

I gained a lot of respect for Carter.

From Wiki:

After the hostages were taken, President Carter issued, on November 14, 1979, Executive Order 12170 - Blocking Iranian Government property, which was used to freeze the bank accounts of the Iranian government in US banks, totaling about $8 billion US at the time. This was to be used as a bargaining chip for the release of the hostages.

The Iranians then changed their demand to return of the Shah and the release of the Iranian money. Through informal channels the Iranian government started negotiations with the banks holding the money. The banks took over negotiations for the release of the hostages, not the U.S. State Department. When the Shah died of cancer in the summer of 1980, the Iranians wanted no more to do with the hostages and changed their demands to just the release of the hostages in exchange for the return of their money. Why the deal was not struck at that point is never explained, since it was the same deal that the Iranians received in January 1981. The hostages were finally released with the signing of Executive Orders 12277 through 12285, releasing all assets belonging to the Iranian government and all assets belonging to the Shah found within the United States and the guarantee that the hostages would have no legal claim against the Iranian government that would be heard in U.S. courts. Iran, however, also agreed to place $1 billion dollars of the frozen assets in an escrow account and both Iran and the United States agreed to the creation of a tribunal to adjudicate claims by U.S. Nationals against Iran for compensation for property lost by them or contracts breached by Iran. The tribunal, known as the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, has awarded over $2 billion dollars to U.S. claimaints and has been described as one of the most important arbitration bodies in the history of International Law.

Accusations of an "October Surprise" were leveled against the Reagan Administration. No witnesses were ever found who had anything to report, but a Democrat controlled Congress investigated the matter anyway (in approximately 1990) and found the evidence inconclusive, being that the story depended on William Casey being in Madrid on a day that he was in London. So the entire set of allegations eventually fell apart.

In short, the hostages were released just hours after Reagan took office. Investigations never found any conclusive wrong-doing. Kinda ancient history at this point, IMO.

04-03-2007, 11:43 PM	#36
Zpxbawtz Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 660 Senior Member	Actually, I remember seeing an interview with Jimmy Carter years and years ago. He was talking about that time period, and had gotten word that the hostages would be released. It was just a short time before Reagan's inauguration (hours? Maybe a day? My memory isn't perfectly clear on that). Rather than make the announcement, Carter held the information so that it wouldn't distract from Reagan's day. I gained a lot of respect for Carter. From Wiki: After the hostages were taken, President Carter issued, on November 14, 1979, Executive Order 12170 - Blocking Iranian Government property, which was used to freeze the bank accounts of the Iranian government in US banks, totaling about $8 billion US at the time. This was to be used as a bargaining chip for the release of the hostages. The Iranians then changed their demand to return of the Shah and the release of the Iranian money. Through informal channels the Iranian government started negotiations with the banks holding the money. The banks took over negotiations for the release of the hostages, not the U.S. State Department. When the Shah died of cancer in the summer of 1980, the Iranians wanted no more to do with the hostages and changed their demands to just the release of the hostages in exchange for the return of their money. Why the deal was not struck at that point is never explained, since it was the same deal that the Iranians received in January 1981. The hostages were finally released with the signing of Executive Orders 12277 through 12285, releasing all assets belonging to the Iranian government and all assets belonging to the Shah found within the United States and the guarantee that the hostages would have no legal claim against the Iranian government that would be heard in U.S. courts. Iran, however, also agreed to place $1 billion dollars of the frozen assets in an escrow account and both Iran and the United States agreed to the creation of a tribunal to adjudicate claims by U.S. Nationals against Iran for compensation for property lost by them or contracts breached by Iran. The tribunal, known as the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, has awarded over $2 billion dollars to U.S. claimaints and has been described as one of the most important arbitration bodies in the history of International Law. Accusations of an "October Surprise" were leveled against the Reagan Administration. No witnesses were ever found who had anything to report, but a Democrat controlled Congress investigated the matter anyway (in approximately 1990) and found the evidence inconclusive, being that the story depended on William Casey being in Madrid on a day that he was in London. So the entire set of allegations eventually fell apart. In short, the hostages were released just hours after Reagan took office. Investigations never found any conclusive wrong-doing. Kinda ancient history at this point, IMO.
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