On November 3, 1979, the founder of the Islamic Revolution, Ruhollah Khomeini, gave a decisive speech calling on the Iranian people, students, and clerics to thwart the conspiracy of the United States and the Zionist regime against the newly established Islamic Republic of Iran, and to oblige the US government to extradite the fugitive former dictator, who had gone to New York in late October for a so-called feast.
Because the Shah suppressed peaceful demonstrations (1978-1979), plundered national wealth, and tortured and martyred many Iranian Muslims, Imam Khomeini argued that he should be sent back to Iran to face trial and justice in the country.
U.S. interference in Iran’s internal affairs, refusal to extradite the fugitive Shah, and a meeting between some interim government officials and President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski (November 1, 1978) angered Iran and prompted some retaliatory measures.
In response to all the incidents and events, a group of Iranian Muslim university students decided to occupy the US embassy on Taleghani Street in Tehran.