The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis And The Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked The World, Macintyre - A*

             "The underlying forces that produced the crisis in London more than forty years ago still agonize and destabilize our world. Britain had never before faced an international hostage-taking incident on this scale, and the siege changed forever the way terrorism was perceived, and dealt with."

              At a little after 11 in the morning on April 30, 1980, six heavily armed gunmen entered the Iranian Embassy in Kensington, and quickly gathered up the twenty six people in the building. The police were there in minutes and the gunmen handed them a statement. They were Iranian Arab opponents of the new theocracy, who had been helped, financed and trained by Iraq, and demanded the release of 91 prisoners held by the secret police in Iran. Police, paramilitaries, firemen, medical professionals and special forces, all from different security entities, soon surrounded the building. There was limited contact between Salim, the nom de guerre of the leader, Ibrahim Towfiq, and the police hostage negotiators over the course of the day before the embassy settled in for the night. On the second day, anxieties rose as the deadline of noon for Iran to release the prisoners approached. Salim kept extending the deadline while changing his demands, and eventually asked for twenty five hamburgers and released two hostages. At day's end, little had changed and the SAS was deployed for immediate action if necessary. The third day saw the hostages and the gunmen becoming more friendly and beginning to care for each other's well-being. As the days wore on, Salim was exhausted and frustrated by the British media's failure to publish his demands and political statements. Late on the fourth day, the authorities allowed the BBC to release Salim's demands leading to a joyous celebration among the hostages and the gunmen. The release of two more hostages led to the delivery of a celebratory meal. The fifth day saw no movement or change and the authorities decided that they would enter the embassy on the sixth day.

            At 12:55 pm on May 5th, the gunmen killed an Iranian hostage who was a member of the Revolutionary Guards. Six hours later, the SAS was ordered to take the embassy. At 7:23, with the tv cameras rolling, explosives blew the skylight on the roof and the commandos entered the building. Tear gas grenades smashed through the windows and the gunmen began shooting at the hostages. Salim was the first killed when he pointed a submachine gun at the commandos. Four more terrorists fell in the melee. The youngest hostage taker was the only one captured alive. Only one hostage died. It was over in eleven minutes. 

           The British people were terribly proud and patriotic and the new PM, Margaret Thatcher, was ascendant. John Le Carre proclaimed it a triumph. The SAS was praised around the world, and was used extensively two years later in the Falklands. Saddam Hussein continued his war against Iran in an eight year grind that killed a million men. The young Fowzi Nejad was tried and sentenced to life in prison. He was released in 2008. This is a truly superb book by an excellent writer, and has been totally fascinating - because I had no idea this had happened.