This success,however, could not make up for Carter's inability to resolve the crisis with Iran in 1979. The United States had long supported the Shah of Iran. Iran served as a major supplier of oil and as a reliable buffer against Soviet expansion in the Middle East. Yet many Iranians had grown unhappy with the Shah's rule. The Shah had brought Western technology and reform to his people with immense revenues from oil, but these changes had onlyu widened the gap between the wealthy and the extremely poor.

Some Islamic leaders objected to the Western Social Reforms and customs that had been introduced into Iran, claiming that they rancontrary to their religious traditions. Huge protests forced the Shah to flee in 1979, and an islamic republic replaced the monarchy.

The new regime, headed by the religious leader Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini viewd the United States with deep distrust because of it's ties with the Shah. Anti American feelings were so strong that on November 4, 1979, militants stormed the American embassy in tehran, the Iranina capital, and took hostage more than 50 Americans. The militants threatened to killl the hostages or try them as spies.

Negotiations for the freedom of the hostages were unsuccessful. As pressure mounted to secure their release, Carter felt he had no choice but to launch a miltiary rescue the hostages had failed. Eight members of the rescue team had dies in a helicopter crash in Iran. Despite this set back, Carter persisted in his diplomatic efforts to free the hostages.