Word: banisadr
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
With that surprising announcement, broadcast over Iranian television and radio, the militants at the U.S. embassy in Tehran last week declared that they were now willing to turn their 50 American hostages over to the ruling Revolutionary Council and newly elected President Abolhassan Banisadr. That was still a long way from saying that the hostages would be released immediately, though it sounded like the best news the U.S. had heard from Tehran since the hostages were seized more than four months ago. But the Carter Administration reacted to the announcement with extreme caution-and, as it turned out, the caution...
...beginning, the U.S. had thought that the commission's visit would lead to the freeing, or at least the moving, of the hostages. On arrival in Tehran, the commissioners discovered that the militants were locked in a bitter power struggle with President Banisadr and Foreign Minister Sadegh Ghotbzadeh. For ten days the militants did everything they could to prevent the commission members from seeing the hostages; they argued that the visit had not been approved by the ailing spiritual leader of Iran's revolution, Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini. But then, as the commissioners prepared to leave for New York...
...remained uncomfortably silent, as if they feared that the slightest American enthusiasm could wreck the deal. They were weary from reacting to all the contradictory stop-and-go signals that have characterized the crisis and were waiting for a sure sign of progress. They were also fairly certain that Banisadr, who is believed to be anxious to get the matter settled once and for all, would be unlikely to free the hostages until Iranian public opinion had been prepared for so dramatic a move...
...after day, Banisadr and Ghotbzadeh promised that the meeting between commissioners and hostages would take place, but nothing happened. On Wednesday evening, the commissioners announced that unless a meeting could be arranged soon, they would have to head home. Ghotbzadeh rushed to the Tehran Hilton from a midnight session of the Revolutionary Council, saying he would soon tell the commissioners the time for the proposed meeting with the hostages. Once again, nothing happened. Next morning, as the commissioners were packing their bags for their return flight to New York, Ghotbzadeh invited them to the Foreign Ministry to discuss "important...
...Council quickly responded by naming a committee to handle the transfer of the hostages to another location, probably under military jurisdiction. Banisadr met with Khomeini Thursday morning. The Ayatullah did not explicitly instruct the militants to obey Banisadr, but after their meeting he reaffirmed his faith in the new President and in the Revolutionary Council...