On this day in history, the US military carried out a secret operation in Iran, under the orders of then-President Jimmy Carter.
The operation, known as Eagle Claw, failed due to the massive sandstorms of the Tabas Desert in today’s South Holasan province.
The failed American mission was an attempt to release 52 staff members of the US embassy (known as the spy burrow), which had been detained in Tehran after the Islamic Revolution of Iranian students bought by the embassy.
In the beginning of April 1980, a few weeks before the start of the operation, Washington cut diplomatic ties with Iran with the acquisition of the US embassy by Tehran students, approved by the leaders of Imam Khomeini of the Islamic Revolution.
Iranian students were angry at the US president’s move to allow abdicated Mohammad Reza Shah to enter the US soil, demanding that his return to Iran be brought to justice for crimes against the Iranian state.
During this time, American military commanders conducted training exercises to refine plans for possible rescue missions and assess the troops and equipment used in such businesses. President Carter approved the military rescue operation on April 16, 1980. The plan utilized elements of all four branches of U.S. Armed Services. The two-day operation required helicopters and C-130 aircraft to rendezvous at the salt flat (codenamed Desert 1) about 200 miles southeast of Tehran. So the helicopter refueled from the C-130 and picked up the combat forces. The helicopter transports the army to the mountain location where the actual mission begins the following night. From April 19th, troops were deployed in Oman and in the Arabian Sea.
On April 24, 1980, Operation Eagle Claw began when he went on a 600-mile trip with a 6 C-130 transport aircraft, for a 600-mile trip from the deck of USS Nimitz, the carrier deck of the American aircraft carrier, for a 600-mile trip in the Arabian Sea. The aircraft encountered Haboob, a violent wind-driven sandstorm common in the desert. This has resulted in extreme visibility issues, damage to the aircraft and illness with the crew. President Carter and his staff received the news and decided to cancel the mission.
As many as eight US commanders were killed in the incident as their deaths were confirmed by the Americans.
When the force was ready to depart, an RH-53D helicopter crashed into the C-130, supplying extra fuel to light the fire that killed five airmen and three Marines.
Many believe the incident played a major role in Carter’s defeat in the 1980 presidential election in the United States.
Imam Khomeini at the time described sandstorms and sand particles as the agents of the Almighty God who came to punish the invaders. The leader of the Islamic Revolution further said Carter’s order, which violated the integrity of Iran’s territory through aggressive operations, was intended to ensure elections that year.
Since the US Operation Eagle Claw failed 45 years ago, Iran has been able to improve its defensive capabilities, upgrade its ability to withstand many threats.
MNA