Ayatollah Khomeini: became the supreme religious leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, following many years of resistance to Shah Pahlavi. Khomeini worked to remove the Shah from power for his associations with the West. Upon the success of the revolution Ayatollah Khomeini was named religious and political leader of Iran for life. Many who protested against his regime were killed, and Khomeini had his doctrines and beliefs taught in public schools.
President Jimmy Carter: Was the current president during the Iran Hostage Crisis but was also going through an presidential election against Ronald Reagan. Reagan took advantage of Carters difficulties and his inability to resolve the problem so Carter lost the election dramatically and soon after the hostages were released on January 21, 1981. Rumors even circulated that Reagan’s campaign staff negotiated with the Iranians to be sure that the hostages would not be released before the election, an event that would surely have given Carter a crucial boost.
Kermit Roosevelt: Operation Ajax. The CIA staged a coup d’etat in Iran, headed by President Theodore Roosevelt’s grandson, Kermit Roosevelt. The operation's purpose was to return the Shah to power through CIA engineered protests and bribery of Iranian officers. The first phase was unsuccessful and the Shah fled Tehran, fearful that his life was in danger for his participation in the attempted overthrow of Massadeq. The second phase was more successful, and enabled the Shah to victoriously return to Iran where he then had a 25-year dictatorship supported by the United States. Although the people of Iran suspected CIA involvement, the U.S. government kept the coup d’etat a secret from the American people. Operation Ajax was considered a resounding success until 1979, when the Iranians revolted against the U.S. Embassy in what became known as the Iranian Hostage Crisis.