Word: tehran
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...have concluded this accord, if we had not had the assistance of your government." State Department officials spoke admiringly of the "tireless work"-and the "imagination and understanding" displayed throughout the ten weeks of ceaseless negotiations by the three chief Algerian envoys: Ambassador to Washington Redha Malek, Ambassador to Tehran Abdel-krim Ghraieb, and Central Bank Governor Mohammed Seghir Mostefai...
...deadline, set by Carter as Jan. 16 and later extended to Jan. 20, seemed out of reach, largely because of the issue of how to deal with the loans that the Iranians owed American banks. Just as the Americans were becoming discouraged about the issue, Tehran provided the solution. Iran said that it would return enough money to pay back the loans. Said one participant in the negotiations: "Suddenly it became very clear that we had a break. We got on the same wave length with the Iranians-a swap." Lawyers, bankers and Government officials quickly pushed to accelerate...
Nearly four hours later, Behzad Nabavi, Iran's chief hostage negotiator, said in Tehran that an agreement had substantially been reached. The Algerians were so certain that the ordeal was near an end that they dispatched a planeload of Algerian journalists to Tehran to cover and film the hostages' release...
...Algiers, there was evidence of further progress. At 7:17, Christopher met with Algerian Foreign Minister Mohamed Seddik Benyahia and signed two declarations that would set up a complex procedure for the return of Iran's frozen assets upon release of the hostages. At the same moment in Tehran, Nabavi was signing his copy of the declarations. "At last I can smile again," beamed Christopher after putting his name on the documents with a felt-tipped pen that he borrowed from Saunders as a sign of appreciation for his work on the accord...
Exhausted but triumphant, the three men were the first to deplane from one of the Air Algerie Boeing 727s that bore the hostages from Tehran to Algiers. There they were greeted with grateful bear hugs by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher and U.S. Ambassador to Algeria Ulric Haynes Jr., the Americans with whom they had worked so closely in the frantic last days of bargaining...