TIMELINES: The release of 52 hostages Jan. 20, 1981, ended a 444-day crisis between what two countries?

Friday, Jan. 20, 2012

The release of 52 hostages Jan. 20, 1981, ended a 444-day crisis between what two countries?

THEN

On Jan. 20, 1981, Iran releases 52 American hostages after holding them for 444 days. As a snub to President Jimmy Carter, Iran releases the hostages minutes after Carter leaves office and Ronald Reagan is inaugurated. Carter works under great pressure during the previous 14 months to secure the release of the American hostages. Following the Iranian Islamic Revolution, Iranians clamber for ousted Reza Shah Pahlavi to face trial. The shah had fled to Egypt as the movement against him crested on Jan. 16, 1979.

NOW

On Sept. 21, 2011, another long-term situation of Americans being held in Iran came to an end. On that day, the Islamic state released Josh Fattal, and Shane Bauer, the last two of three American hikers jailed on charges of espionage in July 2009 after crossing the border into Iran while hiking in Iraq. The third, Sarah Shourd, was released a year earlier. The men’s release ended two years of heightened diplomatic tension that further complicated the U.S.’s already tenuous relationship with Tehran. Before their release, both men were fined $500,000.