A protester waves a photo of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a rally in Tehran in solidarity with the government against Israeli attacks, on June 14, 2025. Atta Kenare/AFP
With the death of Ali Khamenei — killed during a series of American‑Israeli strikes against Iran on the morning of February 28 — confirmed by Tehran, we invite you to revisit this article originally published on June 15, 2025.It's April 12, 1980, and history is moving at breakneck speed, propelled forward by the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Camp David Accords and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. But for the American diplomats held hostage in Tehran for five months, time is standing still. Operation ‘Eagle Claw’ — President Jimmy Carter’s mission to rescue the captives — has yet to begin.Thirty-something-year-old John Limbert sits in solitary confinement. One spring morning, he receives a visit from two Swiss representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and then a stranger arrives, accompanied by a small film...
With the death of Ali Khamenei — killed during a series of American‑Israeli strikes against Iran on the morning of February 28 — confirmed by Tehran, we invite you to revisit this article originally published on June 15, 2025.It's April 12, 1980, and history is moving at breakneck speed, propelled forward by the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Camp David Accords and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. But for the American diplomats held hostage in Tehran for five months, time is standing still. Operation ‘Eagle Claw’ — President Jimmy Carter’s mission to rescue the captives — has yet to begin.Thirty-something-year-old John Limbert sits in solitary confinement. One spring morning, he receives a visit from two Swiss representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and then a stranger arrives, accompanied...