Chambers was later awarded CIA's Intelligence Medal of Merit for his help in the operation. However, the Swedish ambassador felt he could better impersonate a Canadian. [8] They decided to smuggle the six Americans out of Iran on an international flight by using Canadian passports for them. American Antiquarian Soc, Newsp Proj 13,048 Library of Congress 10,942 Kansas State Hist Soc, Newsp Proj 9,068 Wisconsin Hist Soc, Newsp Proj 8,771 The next day, the story broke in Montreal, in an article written by Jean Pelletier, Washington correspondent for La Presse; it was quickly picked up by the international press. Describe current global and Canadian trends of secularization and religious belief. Mendez worked closely with Canadian government staff in Ottawa, who forwarded the passports and other supporting material to the Canadian embassy through a Canadian diplomatic courier. [16] The movie was filmed in and around Toronto, and was an American-Canadian co-production. [16] A children's illustrated book about the event was written by 2013 Eric Hoffer Award-winner Laura Scandiffio and Stephen MacEachern, entitled Escapes! [2], An article written about these events was published in Wired in 2007. Mendez flew to Tehran with an associate known as "Julio" to assist with the rescue. Looking for options, Anders contacted his old friend John Sheardown, a Canadian immigration officer, and received an enthusiastic invitation for the entire group. They demanded the return of the Shah to Iran for trial. The Anders group neared the British embassy, but saw a huge crowd staging a protest in their path. Several other news organizations also possessed some elements of the story. The "Canadian Caper" was the joint covert rescue by the Canadian government and the CIA of six American diplomats who had evaded capture during the seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran, Iran, on November 4, 1979, after the Iranian Revolution, when Islamist students took most of the American embassy personnel hostage, demanding the return of the US-backed Shah for trial. Iran has blamed Israel for last year's killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was seen by Western intelligence services as the mastermind of a covert Iranian nuclear weapons programme. Tension rose as suspicious telephone calls and other activity indicated that concealment of the diplomats may have been discovered.[13]. In addition to seeing John and Zena Sheardown, they were greeted by Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor. The "Canadian Caper" was the joint covert rescue by the Canadian government and the CIA of six American diplomats who had evaded capture during the seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran, Iran, on November 4, 1979, after the Iranian Revolution, when Islamist students took most of the American embassy personnel hostage, demanding the return of the US-backed Shah for trial. The CIA's full involvement was not revealed until 1997, when records were declassified. By coincidence, the aircraft was named Aargau,[14] after the Aargau canton in northern Switzerland. This fictionalized account of the operation won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and three BAFTA awards, including Best Film. Roger Lucy â political officer and first secretary for the Canadian Embassy. The latter took an indirect route and were soon captured and returned to the compound. 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[2], Ambassador Taylor contacted Flora MacDonald, Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs, and Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark for assistance. Telephone calls to the "Studio Six" office in Los Angeles would be answered, should anyone call to check on the film's production. [19] In addition, the film incorrectly states that the six American diplomats had been turned away by the British and New Zealand embassies. It took place after Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1978–79 and poisoned U.S.-Iranian relations for decades. In a hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, lawmakers pounded Facebook CEO Mark … The American diplomats spent one night in a British diplomatic compound before it became obvious that the militants were searching for the diplomats and had confronted the British embassy. [7] Mendez and Julio continued to Frankfurt, Germany, where Mendez wrote his after-action report. There, they were told that, for diplomatic purposes, they would not be able to talk to the press and that they would be kept hidden in a secret location in Florida until the hostage situation was resolved. They established a functioning office at Sunset Gower Studios on Sunset Boulevard, named "Studio Six Productions" (a nod to the six diplomats). It explains why these protests are different than the 1999, 2009, and 2018 protests as this one is about regime change where the youth and the poor are revolting.” [9], To make the cover believable, Mendez enlisted the help of John Chambers, a veteran Hollywood make-up artist. It was purportedly made up of six Canadians, one Irishman and one Latin American, who were finishing scouting for an appropriate location to shoot a scene for the nominal science-fiction film Argo. Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization, Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, "Canadian Caper helps Americans escape Tehran", "A Classic Case of Deception: CIA Goes Hollywood", "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran", "Tony Mendez, clandestine CIA hero of Ben Affleck's 'Argo,' reveals the real story behind film smash", http://www.airliners.net/photo/Swissair/McDonnell-Douglas-DC-8-62/0139560/&sid=6fd163c5c16d8b8a0e6410f0a10f8632, "John Sheardown, Canadian Who Sheltered Americans in Tehran, Dies at 88", "Jimmy Carter On 'Argo:' 90 Per Cent Of Plan From Canadians (VIDEO)", "Ben Affleck's new film 'Argo' upsets British diplomats who helped Americans in Iran", "A CIA Agent Relies on Hollywood Tricks to Rescue his Targets", Nationalization of the Iranian oil industry, Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights, Jimmy Carter's engagement with Ruhollah Khomeini, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to George W. Bush, Prisoner exchanges between Iran and United States, U.S. raid on the Iranian Liaison Office in Erbil, 2009â11 detention of American hikers by Iran, Contents of the United States diplomatic cables leak (Iran), Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty of Amity (Iran v. United States), Arab statesâIsraeli alliance against Iran, International Maritime Security Construct, 2019 Iranian shoot-down of American drone, December 2019 United States airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, Attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad, United States threat for destruction of Iranian cultural sites, 2020 Iranian attack on U.S. forces in Iraq, February 2021 United States airstrike in Syria, Iran, North Korea, Syria Nonproliferation Act, Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act, Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act, United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran. The Staffords were taken by Taylor to his home, where they joined his wife Pat. Two groups of diplomats fled into Tehran's streets with orders to walk to the British Embassy: The Anders group (excluding Schatz), along with two Americans seeking consular services (including Kim King, who later had a local embassy employee help him obtain an exit visa and fly out of Iran); and the second group, including Consul General Richard Morefield. [13] The Argo story was blown, but the CIA's role was kept secret by both the US and Canadian governments at the time. After three days, the Bazargan government fell, and the diplomats realized the ordeal would not be over quickly. The Canadians closed their embassy the same day. In the film, the role of John Sheardown and his wife Zena were omitted for reasons of length and cost. The script used was based on the 1967 Roger Zelazny science fiction novel Lord of Light, adapted and set on a planet with a Middle-Eastern feel, to justify their desire to scout filming locations in Iran. They wanted to ensure the safety of the remaining hostages. American gratitude for the Canadians' actions was displayed widely and by numerous American television figures and ordinary citizens alike, who particularly recognized Taylor for gratitude. The award-winning Canadian Jewish News (CJN) is Canada’s largest, weekly Jewish newspaper with an audited circulation of nearly 32,000 and read by more than 100,000 people each week. On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages. Iran hostage crisis, international crisis (1979–81) in which militants seized 66 Americans at the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 52 of them hostage for more than a year. “Uprising Shakes Iran Regime’s Foundations details the November 2019 uprising in Iran which engulfed 200 cities in all 31 provinces of Iran; over 1,500 people were killed and over 12,000 arrested. Display ads for the upcoming "Studio Six" film were placed in Hollywood publications, and one such newspaper was given to Cora Lijek to carry as part of her cover materials. This page was last edited on 12 March 2021, at 00:52. A companion documentary film of the same title was released in 2013. National Geographic also featured the story in their popular television series Banged up Abroad under the title 'Argo'. [7], President Jimmy Carter had officially maintained for negotiation purposes that all of the missing American diplomats were held hostage, so the news about six being rescued came as a complete surprise to the public. Robert Anders, Cora Amburn-Lijek, Mark Lijek, Joseph Stafford, Kathleen Stafford and Lee Schatz were the six American diplomats who were harboured by Canadian diplomats Ken Taylor and John Sheardown and exfiltrated from Tehran in 1980. An Iranian convicted of spying for U.S. and Israeli intelligence was executed in 2020. Fortunately, extra passports had been included, so Mendez was able to insert new visa stamps with dates based on the Iranian calendar. [7] On November 27, Taylor received a call from the Swedish ambassador Kaj Sundberg, asking him to take in American Lee Schatz. Robert Sidell, a friend of Chambers and also a makeup artist, posed as a film producer at related events, while his wife Joan performed as the receptionist at "Studio Six". They included: Zena Sheardown, a British subject born in Guyana, would normally have been ineligible for the Order. [4] The provisional government fell shortly thereafter, when Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan and his cabinet resigned.[5]. [9], Alternative passports and identities had been prepared for a variety of scenarios, but the cover story selected had the six as Canadians working on a Hollywood crew scouting movie locations. [3] In particular, the film focuses largely on the role the CIA played in the operation and minimizes the extended involvement of the Canadians, and their share of strategy and preparation. [3], When the Islamic Iranian Revolution occurred, the US-backed Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled the country. Schatz had initially slept on the floor at the Swedish embassy and later stayed at the apartment of Swedish consul Cecilia Lithander. Terminology. Ambassador Taylor and the remaining staff returned to Canada. [22] Pelletier's article ran on January 29 as soon as he knew the hostages had left Iran. The other three stayed with the Sheardowns. The eight Americans in the "caper" left Iran on Sunday, January 27. Ambassador Taylor was subsequently awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress for his critical assistance to the United States. [6][18] The film includes elements of both fact and fiction. The six American diplomats arrived in the United States on January 30, 1980. Iranian-American is used interchangeably with Persian-American, partly due to the fact that, in the Western world, Iran was known as "Persia". In the United States, this is a formal outcome of the Constitutional 1st Amendment protections (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”). The Canadians involved in the rescue were appointed to the Order of Canada, Canada's second-highest civilian award. Robert Anders invited the others to his home, as he lived nearby. Their reaction was based on … Julio and Mendez had previously worked together in the CIA's Office of Technical Service (OTS) branch. Flora MacDonald intervened to ensure that she was awarded honorary membership, later converted to full membership when she became a Canadian citizen. They were working in the consulate, a separate building in the embassy compound, when the Iranians came over the wall. [20] Argo won three Oscars, including Best Picture, at the 85th Academy Awards on February 24, 2013.[21]. [10][11], A mistake was made in dating the visas, as the Iranian year begins at the spring equinox. The elaborate back-story was based on a film named Argo. Taylor agreed, and placed Schatz in the Sheardown residence. [2], The Canadians had undertaken great personal risk in sheltering the Americans, as they provided sanctuary in their private residences for the six endangered American diplomats. The passports that were issued contained a set of forged Iranian visas prepared by the US Central Intelligence Agency to be used in an attempt to escape from Iran. Historian Robert Wright also covered these events in his book Our Man in Tehran (2010). Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United States, Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, Organization of Iranian American Communities, United States involvement in regime change, United States and state-sponsored terrorism, Opposition to military action against Iran, Support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War, The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canadian_Caper&oldid=1011642927, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Robert G. Anders, 54 â consular officer, Joseph D. Stafford, 29 â consular officer, Kathleen F. Stafford, 28 â consular assistant, Ambassador Taylor and his wife Patricia Taylor, Immigration officer John and his wife Zena Sheardown, Mary Catherine O'Flaherty â communications officer. Pelletier had uncovered some of the facts concerning the escaped diplomats before January 28, 1980, but he did not publish the story. They expressed support for the sheltering effort. It used office space that actor Michael Douglas had recently used while making the film The China Syndrome (1979). [citation needed] Most of the hostages were held until early 1981. [8], The CIA enlisted its disguise and exfiltration expert, Tony Mendez, to provide a cover story, documents, appropriate clothing, and materials to change their appearances. The "caper" involved a CIA officer (Tony Mendez and his colleague known as "Julio" for this event) joining the six diplomats in Tehran to form a fake film crew. Jody Avirgan, To our readers: Everything has its season. [8], In 1981, a television movie about the Canadian Caper was made, Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper, directed by Lamont Johnson, with Kenneth D. Taylor played by Gordon Pinsent. Amid the turmoil, a mob of young Islamists, known as the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, stormed the US Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, capturing dozens of diplomats and holding them hostage. On the morning of Sunday, January 27, 1980, the full eight-person party passed through passport control, at the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, boarded a Swissair flight to Zürich and escaped Iran. The Canadian dollar drifted lower against its major counterparts in the European session on Wednesday, as oil prices dropped after Iran nuclear talks opened the possibility of an easing of sanctions on its oil exports. 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WASHINGTON — The CEOs of tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Google faced a grilling in Congress Thursday as lawmakers tried to draw them into acknowledging their companies' roles in fueling the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and rising COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. To do so, an Order in Council was made to issue official multiple copies of Canadian passports, with various fake identities, to the American diplomats in Canadian sanctuary. It was used loosely as the basis of the film Argo (2012), which dramatized these events. Early on the morning of Sunday, January 27, 1980, Mendez, "Julio", and the six American diplomats, traveling with real Canadian passports and forged entry documents, easily made it through security at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport. All of the diplomats involved agreed that the residence of the Canadian Ambassador would be better suited to sheltering them. [7] The team also prepared fake business cards, held a film party at a nightclub in Los Angeles, and took out early advertisements for the film in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter industry magazines. [9] Upon landing in Zürich, the six diplomats were taken by CIA operatives to a mountain lodge safe house for the night. Former President Jimmy Carter acknowledged this in an interview in 2013, while also praising the film. [2] After a short delay because of mechanical difficulties with the McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62, the group boarded Swissair flight 363 (Registration: HB-IDL) for Zürich, Switzerland. [13] The CIA drove the six diplomats from Switzerland to the US Ramstein Air Base in West Germany to be flown across the Atlantic to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.[15]. Taylor sent others on fake errands, both to establish erratic patterns and to case airport procedures. Ambassador Taylor worked to fly out non-essential Canadian embassy personnel. Former Embassy of Iran in Washington, D.C. But his exposure of the operation resulted in the US having to end their plans to house the six Americans secretly while the hostage drama continued. The Canadian flag was flown in many locations across the United States, and ads were taken out on "Thank You" billboards. [12] As the weeks passed during this preparation, the American diplomats read and played games, mainly cards and Scrabble. One of the Canadian embassy officers spotted the mistake while checking the documents. Two "friendly-country" embassy officials assisted as well, and an unoccupied diplomatic residence was used for several weeks. Tehran has denied seeking to build a nuclear arsenal. Although the new Iranian government stated that the hostage-takers were students acting on their own, it joined in demands for the return of the Shah. 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