Valentine’s Day, 1980, at
the locked gates of the U.S.
embassy compound in Tehran.
A woman in the traditional
chador approaches from
inside the compound and
takes a note from a journalist
covering the story.

This photo, one of 30 black
and white images, is part of
“Hostage: The 1979 Crisis in
Iran,” an exhibit of my photos
at the IX Gallery, 11 Davies
Ave., Toronto, which opens
Nov. 4, the 30th anniversary
of the seizing of the embassy
when 52 Americans were
taken hostage by a group
of university students and
held for 444 days.

I arrived in mid-January
1980 while working for The
Canadian Press wire agency,
a couple of weeks before
Canadian ambassador Ken
Taylor helped six Americans
escape with Canadian
passports. The six, who were
not at the embassy when
students took the others
hostage, managed to hide
at the Canadian residence
until a few weeks before
their escape. They were in
the basement of the Canadian
embassy the day I met with
Ambassador Taylor. I was
in Iran for three months at
that time and returned in the
fall when war broke out with
Iraq. I stayed for three months
and left in time to go to
Algiers where the released
Americans were transferred to
U.S. authorities on Jan. 20,
1981. President Ronald
Reagan was inaugurated on
that day.

Peter Bregg has covered events with the canadian press in ottawa and the associated press in washington, boston, london and new york.

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