The students themselves were certainly motivated by fears of another coup. The power brokers, the sort of small cadre of power brokers among the clerical elite that was shaping at the time used the opportunity afforded by the embassy takeover to better their position vis-a-vis their more moderate and more liberal oriented internal opponents. So we should say these forces were actually very much egging on outright confrontation with the United States. There is a sense in which there was some knowledge that this might happen but either way it actually is ultimately a material because as I said it really push out or make the continued tenure of Bosé Garmon impossible.
Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the fourth episode in what is now a FIVE-part series. We pick up in the wake of the Islamic Revolution as Khomeini consolidates power, represses his rivals, and confronts an invasion from Saddam Hussein's Iraq. We continue through the Iran-Iraq War, the mass execution of thousands of leftist prisoners, and Khamenei and Rafsanjani's rise to power after Khomeini's death.
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