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Former US embassy in Iran reopens to tourists

The former US Embassy in Tehran now serves as a museum for foreign and local visitors.

November 4, 2021 at 2:52 pm

The former US Embassy in Tehran, which was occupied on 4 November 1979 following the 1979 Iranian Revolution led by the Islamic Republic’s founder Ayatollah Khomeini, now serves as a museum for foreign and local visitors.

In 1979, a large number of Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, jumping over its walls, taking at least 60 hostages, mostly diplomats and embassy staff.

The hostages were released on 21 January 1981, exactly 444 days after the crisis began. During this period, the two countries became sworn enemies, and over the years tensions have only escalated.

The incident that took place more than four decades ago played a key part in heightening tensions between post-revolution Iran and the US, which led to a breakdown in political and diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The embassy building, which stands in a vast compound in the centre of Tehran, was handed over to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps following the occupation.

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Now, on the anniversary of the history attack, the main building of the US Embassy, which covers an area of 50,000 square metres in total and which was turned into a museum in 2016, has reopened following coronavirus closures and renovation work.

Visitors will see the anti-US slogans which were sprayed on the walls of the embassy building, as well as tour the main service building, where the ambassador’s room was located before the occupation.

Other parts of the embassy continue to be used by the Revolutionary Guards Corps.

One of the rooms included a glass box in which diplomats could conduct top secret conversations without fear of being overheard.