Our Man in Tehran: The Truth Behind the Secret Mission to Save Six Americans during the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Ambassador Who Worked with the CIA to Bring Them Home

399 Pages·2011·3.24 MB·English

by  Robert Wright

Other Press edition 2011
Copyright © 2010 by Robert Wright
First published in Canada in 2010 by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
Production Editor: Yvonne E. Cárdenas
Design revisions for this edition by Simon M. Sullivan
Grateful acknowledgment is given to the following for permission to reproduce photographs:
Ken Taylor, pp. this page (Ken Taylor and the shah of Iran), this page (Ken and Pat
Taylor), this page (Ken and Pat Taylor); Canadian Press (CP), jacket (Ayatollah
Khomeini), pp. this page (Shah and empress of Iran), this page (Iranians and hostage),
this page (helicopters); CP/Peter Bregg, jacket (Taylor), pp. this page (Taylor), this page
(Iranians protesting), this page (Khomeini), this page (students protesting), this page
(Iranian women), this page (women in front of Tehran University), this page (Iranian
students), this page (Canadian embassy in Iran), this page (Sadegh Ghotbzadeh);
CP/Chuck Mitchell, p. this page (Joe Clark); CP/Barry Thumma, p. this page (Taylor, at
podium, with Ronald Reagan); Babak, www.babak.ca, p. this page (Taylor);
iStockphoto, pp. this page (censored document), this page (handshake), this page
(passport).
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from Other Press LLC,
except in the case of brief quotations in reviews for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or
broadcast. For information write to Other Press LLC, 2 Park Avenue, 24th floor, New York, NY
10016. Or visit our Web site: www.otherpress.com.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Wright, Robert A. (Robert Anthony), 1960-
Our man in Tehran : the true story behind the secret mission to save six Americans during the
Iran Hostage Crisis and the foreign ambassador who worked with the CIA to bring them home
/ by Robert Wright.—Other Press ed.
p. cm.
“First published in Canada in 2010 by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd”—T.p. verso.
eISBN: 978-1-59051-414-6 1. Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981. 2. Taylor, Kenneth, 1934- 3.
Diplomats—United States. 4. Escapes—Iran. 5. Diplomatic and consular service, Canadian—
Iran. 6. Diplomatic and consular service, American—Iran. 7. United States—Foreign relations
—Iran. 8. Iran—Foreign relations—United States. 9. Ambassadors—Canada—Biography. I.
Title.
E183.8.I55W75 2011
955.05′4—dc22 2010020376
v3.1
For Laura, Helena, Anna and Michael

An ambassador is a man of virtue sent abroad to lie for his country.
—Henry Wotton, Sr. (1568–1639)
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
PREFACE
PROLOGUE
PART ONE ~ TEHRAN
1. The Unlikely Ambassador
2. A Toast to the Shah
PART TWO ~ REVOLUTION
3. The Downward Spiral
4. The Overthrow of the Shah
5. Ayatollah Khomeini in Power
6. Fateful Decisions
PART THREE ~ HOSTAGES AND HOUSEGUESTS
7. Marg bar Amrika!
8. On the Run
9. Diplomatic Maneuvers
10. Coming in from the Cold
11. Walking Laps in the Ballroom
12. Stalemate
PART FOUR ~ INTELLIGENCE
13. This Is War
14. A Close Call
PART FIVE ~ EXFILTRATION
15. The Canadian Plan
16. Passports and Visas
17. The Flight of the Houseguests
PART SIX ~ AFTERSHOCKS
18. Thanks, Canada
19. Fallout
20. Yellow Ribbons
EPILOGUE: OUR MAN IN NEW YORK
ABBREVIATIONS
NOTES
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FILMOGRAPHY