Rescue at the Iranian Embassy: The Most Daring SAS Raid (The Most Daring Raids in History)

On May 5, 1980, the world watched as the SAS performed a daring raid on the Iranian Embassy in London. Hailed by Margaret Thatcher as a brilliant operation, the raid was a huge success for the SAS, rescuing nineteen hostages with near-perfect military execution, although two were killed by the terrorists. Despite the media attention, details of the siege are still largely unknown and the identities of the SAS troopers remain a guarded secret. This book takes an in-depth look at the siege, revealing the political background behind it and analyzing the controversial decision by the Prime Minister to sign over control of London streets to the military. Artwork depicts the moment the walls were breached and how strict the planning of the operation was critical to its success. With input from some of those involved in the mission, this book strips away some of the mystery behind the best counter-terrorism unit in the world and their most famous raid.

Gregory Fremont Barnes has contributed to Rescue at the Iranian Embassy: The Most Daring SAS Raid as an author.GREGORY FREMONT-BARNES holds a doctorate in Modern History from the University of Oxford, where he studied under the distinguished military historians Sir Michael Howard, Regius Professor of Modern History, and Robert O'Neill, Chichele Professor of the History of War. After leaving Oxford, he moved to Japan, where he spent eight years as a university lecturer in European and American history. He is the author of numerous books, including The French Revolutionary Wars; The Peninsular War, 1807-1814; The Fall of the French Empire, 1813-1815; The Boer War, 1899-1902; Trafalgar 1805: Nelson's Crow