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Home , Iran hostage crisis, Mohammad Mosaddegh

The American University in Dubai’s Model United Nations presents the

HISTORICAL CRISIS COMMITTEE

Background Guide

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Welcome Letter

Dear delegates,

My name is Rand Rabadi, one of your moderators and it is my utmost pleasure to welcome you all to the sixth installment of AUDMUN; I, along with your two other moderators, Ghofrane Lahib and Krista Fidelia Fernandez, would love to emphasize on how much we are excited to meet you all. We are hoping for a fruitful conference filled with lots of excitement, debates and resolutions.

The Historical Crisis Committee represents a new concept introduced to the United Nations in the last several years. Although the committee is not part of the official United Nations, it is still being used in MUN to discuss historical events that led to major international political issues through the years; it is also a fast-paced committee that often emulates real life crises. The committee’s main goal is to focus on different ways each scenario could have went and we are to guide you delegates to come up with alternative solutions that will be implemented within the duration of the conference. You will write new and somewhat unorthodox resolutions that will be beneficial to solving the issues at hand.

We hope that you use your resources wisely and that you commit to finding fruitful solutions in order to have a very productive conference. The two topics for this year’s Historical Crisis Committee are “The Cuban Missile Crisis” and “The Crisis”. We hope that you will research and explore all areas of these two interesting topics; however, we must advise you to thoroughly read this background guide which we have worked on carefully in order to aid you in your journey as you begin.

Once again, we are thrilled to be chairing HCC and even more excited to meet you all very soon. Please do not hesitate to contact any of us in any case should you need assistance or clarification.

Sincerely, Chairs of HCC.

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Topic 1:

Introduction:

On November 4th 1979, an Iranian student group by the name of Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line stormed the U.S embassy in and took 90 people hostage, which included 66 Americans, that were to remain in the embassy for 444 days. The Iranian hostage crisis is perhaps one of the most notorious of hostage crises, with it being the longest recorded hostage situation. While the crisis took place in 1979, the events leading up to it were set in motion with the election of as the Prime Minister in 1951, almost three decades before the actual crisis took place.

The fragile relationship the had with Iran was already crumbling when the U.S. allowed a previously overthrown Shah of Iran into the country, this was the last straw for Iran and the ultimate trigger that led to the hostage crisis. In the American’s eyes, the crisis is often viewed as the manifestation of the hatred that Iran had for the U.S, although for Iran it was an ingenious and justified method to end western intrusion in Iranian affairs; it was Iran asserting its power after the humiliation they were subjected to after the coup of 1953, fueled by the desire to vanquish any party with a hold over Iran.

History:

In 1951, Mohammad Mosaddegh was elected as Iranian prime minister. By this time Iran had endured almost decades of British hegemony, coerced to oblige while Britain enjoyed the luxuries paid for by Iran’s oil resources. As an extreme nationalist, Mossadegh did not enjoy the presence of western companies exploiting and controlling Iran’s petroleum, leaving Iran to relish only a minor portion of its profits. As prime minister, he proposed to nationalize Iran’s oil [1] industry and to oust any foreign companies, in hopes of abolishing Iran’s poverty. "My countrymen lack the bare necessities of existence," Mossadegh told the U.N. Security Council. "Their standard of living is probably one of the lowest in the world. Our greatest national resource is oil. This should be the source of work and food for the population of Iran. Its exploitation should properly be our national industry, and the revenue from it should go to improve our conditions of life." [5] The Iranians all praised Mossadegh for “flouting the authority of great power”[7], and his popularity among the citizens shot up. However Britain was not too pleased with the nationalization plan and they retaliated by extracting all it’s employees from Iran, additionally, with the support of the U.S. government, they refused to buy or transport the oil which led to a boycott of Iranian oil.[1] This induced an economic crisis in Iran and the once-popular Mossadegh became out of favour especially with the poverty-stricken common people, and he was an ever more autocratic dictator, who ordered thousands of political rivals to be jailed, causing him to become much more unpopular. Also, his primary support was coming

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from the Tudeh party, the communist party of Iran [2]. They led pro-Mosaddegh starting in the middle of 1953 and engaged in political violence. Finally, he eventually signed a decree that had completely abolished the parliament of Iran, giving himself absolute power, control and authority. This, along with the nationalization of Iranian oil, instilled fear within the people and caused a tremendous amount of worry of a communist takeover in Iran. After exhausting every means to force Mossadegh out of the nationalization plan, British Prime Minister and US President Dwight D. Eisenhower organized a coup d’etat, backed by American CIA and British MI6, in hopes of overthrowing Mosaddegh. Eventually, the plan under British name “Operation Boot” and American name “Operation Ajax” succeeded and Mosaddegh was replaced by General .[8]

Following the coup, the new pro-western government under Fazlollah’s regime as prime minister enabled Mohammad Pahlavi (The Shah) to switch from a constitutional monarch with restricted power in comparison to the prime minister to essentially an absolute monarch and Pahlavi took the title ‘Shahanshah’ translating to ‘king of kings’[9]. The Shah launched a series of changes including establishing rights for the religious minorities and an overall westernization of Iran, this did not gain him favour with , a leading Shia scholar. Khomeini was eventually, in 1964, arrested and exiled to Turkey from Iran for disagreeing with the Shah’s deeds and reforms in Iran. The Shah allowed the previously evicted western oil companies including American companies to return to Iran, this restored the previously depressed economy in Iran and gained him the support of the U.S. Even with all the positive social, economic and religious reforms that were taking place in Iran, the Shah was a savage dictator and with the help of his secret police, SAVAK (Sazman-e Etelaat Va Amniat Keshvar" -Organization of Intelligence and Security of the Country)[6], abused, imprisoned and even murdered the people that oppressed his rule. Even though the existence of the SAVAK instilled fear amidst the people they still carried out mass protests against the Shah. In the face of mutiny and escalating violent protests, Pahlavi fled Iran. Following this, in 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini, who supported the anti-Shah protests while in exile, returned to Iran and assumed the role of a supreme leader.[10] Khomeini established an anti-western and fervently opposed the United States and its support for the Shah made them even more despised by the people and the U.S. was referred to as "the ".

Shortly after being overthrown Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and needed urgent surgery[11], and was granted asylum by the United States. This infuriated Khomeini and the Iranian people who in turn stipulated that the Shah be returned to Iran where he would have to stand trial. This was seen as the U.S. meddling in Iranian affairs and to retaliate a student group called the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line, to seize the US embassy in Tehran on , 1979, taking 90 people hostage, including 66 Americans. After the release of 13 female and African-American

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and one hostage due to medical issues, the total number of hostages was 52 Americans that were to remain in the embassy in Tehran for 444 days.[4]

The hostage crisis persisted throughout the 1980 presidential election, and with the constant media attention on the ongoing crisis, Carter's inability to solve the issue made him look like an unworthy presidential candidate in the public eye. Furthermore, his unceasing attempts to resolve the issue kept him away from engaging in all the campaigns for the upcoming election. , the Republican candidate, however, benefited greatly from all the troubles Carter faced and when election day came Reagan defeated Carter with an overwhelming majority. Shortly after Reagan had been sworn in, on January 21st 1981, all the hostages were released and returned to the United States.[4]

Analysis:

The Iran hostage crisis, as it was in the wake of the Vietnam war, was a serious blow to the US, political and reputation wise. Beyond putting a roadblock in the direction of US-Iranian ties, it was also generally believed to have led to Carter’s defeat by Reagan in the 1980 presidential elections. In addition, in the years following the crisis, claims emerged that the Reagan campaign had thwarted Carter’s efforts to reach an earlier settlement- thus derailing a potential political coup for the Carter campaign- in an effort to achieve a Reagan victory. However, the argument has been widely denied.

The UN has settled for resolutions 457 and 461, and have recognized the dangerous level of tension between Iran and the US and concluded that it would have grave consequences on international peace and security. Towards the end of resolution 457, the UN decided to invite the representatives of , Australia, Germany, Singapore and Japan to participate, without vote, in the discussion of the question at hand.

Operation Eagle Claw, a failed US military mission to evacuate Americans taken hostage during the Iran hostage crisis in April 1980. The project revealed deficiencies within the US military command system and contributed to the formation of the Special Operations Commands (SOCOM) for the United State. Iraq’s occupation over Iran came less than a year after employees of the embassy were taken hostage. Journalist claims that the drastic change in American-Iranian relations, from allies to rivals, helped embolden the Iraqi leader, , and that the frustration of the U.S. with Iran led him to support Iraqis after the war turned against them. The U.S. supplied Iraq with, among other things, "helicopters and satellite intelligence used in the procurement of helicopters.” The hostage-taking was unsuccessful for Iran in some aspects and it caused a lot of tension towards other countries. The whole crisis caused major complications which made many other countries choose to not stand by Iran during their war against Iraq. The crisis also strengthened Iranians who had backed the

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hostage-taking. Anti-Americanism was becoming even more serious. Politicians like Khoeiniha and have been left in a stronger role, whereas those aligned with – or accused of association with – America have been excluded from the political picture. Every year, the Iranian government commemorates the incident with a at the embassy, and an American flag burning. Yet pro-democracy demonstrators and reformists protested in Tehran 's streets on November 4, 2009. The demonstrators then chanted "death to the emperor" (referring to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah ) and other anti-government slogans as the authorities urged them to sing "". The U.S. and Iran have broken off official diplomatic relations over the hostage crisis. Iran selected in the United States as its defensive force, and transferred the mandate to Pakistan in 1992. The United States has chosen as their defensive power in Iran. Relationships are established through the Pakistani Embassy and the US Section of Iranian Interests of the Swiss embassy.

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Questions a resolution must answer:

1. What measures have to be taken to ensure the prevention of future hostage crises? 2. How can the laws be strengthened and/or changed to create more peaceful negotiations? 3. How does the role of the United States of America play a part in the Iran-? 4. How could the hostage crisis have been resolved in other ways?

Starter Sources:

• Chun, S. (2015, July 16). 6 things you didn't know about the Iran hostage crisis. Retrieved August, from https://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/27/world/ac-six-things-you- didnt-know-about-the-iran-hostage-crisis/index.html • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020, March 05). Iran hostage crisis. Retrieved August, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-hostage-crisis • Iran Hostage Crisis Ends. (2009, November 24). Retrieved August, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/iran-hostage-crisis-ends • Kamarck, E. (2019, November 04). The Iranian hostage crisis and its effect on American politics. Retrieved August, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from- chaos/2019/11/04/the-iranian-hostage-crisis-and-its-effect-on-american-politics/

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Topic 2: Cuban Missile Crisis

Introduction:

Largely considered as the ’s highest-tension timespan, the Cuban Missile Crisis is a conflict between the two superpowers, the and the United States, that ensued and threatened nuclear war. It began after the Soviet Union deployed ballistic medium-range and intermediate-range missiles into . Despite President John F. Kennedy’s previously issued warnings against the deploying of ballistic missiles in Cuba, images validating the certainty of these missiles were reported to president John F. Kennedy on October 16, which is regarded as the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Interestingly, the Cuban missile crisis’ events and decision- making primarily unfolded in the Moscow Kremlin and the White House, considering the extreme levels of secrecy has hid hidden information even from high-ranking government officials. It was arranged for a group of members from the National Security Council to form the Executive Committee. The committee, beginning its plans from scratch as U.S. intelligence had previously reassured them that the Soviet Union would never use Cuba as a harbor for ballistic missiles, secretly debated the United States’ course of action. While some advisers encouraged the U.S. President to begin striking the missiles and then launch a full-scale invasion against , other advisers urged him to remain peaceful, issuing only severe warnings to Cuba and the Soviet Union. After much discussion, the committee agreed to launch a naval “quarantine” on October 22, cutting off Cuba’s supply of additional missiles and announcing that the Soviet Union must collect its weapons from Cuba and halt their supply.

History:

Italy and Turkey’s harboring of the United States’ Jupiter ballistic missiles starting in 1956 is seen as the preambulatory spark to the conflict. As the Second World War ended and gave way to the Cold War, the United States was increasingly wary of . This wariness manifested in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, which failed, and in addition to the United States’ handling of the Berlin Crisis, left the Soviet Union encouraged. Meanwhile, the United States continued its covert operations, including Operation Mongoose, which were aimed at overthrowing the Cuban government. At the start of 1962, following the arrival of Soviet missile construction experts in Cuba, Castro requested placing missiles on the island’s borders. After a meeting between Fidel Castro and Nikita Khruschev discussing the near-certainty of a U.S. invasion, so construction on missile launch facilities began in the summer of 1962. The operation maintained utmost secrecy, with even those involved in it being told lies by the higher-ups regarding what they were actually doing. The Cuban missiles, ones that could reach the majority of the Continental U.S., were heavily visible to the Cuban citizens upon their arrival, resulting in hundreds of reports being sent to Miami and U.S. agencies who either denied them as untrue or chalked them up to be describing defensive missiles. The White House, busy with elections, denied

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the presence of the missiles that were reportedly just 140km from Florida. There was a lack of aerial photos to confirm or deny the ‘alleged’ offensive missiles, as the United States had just recently apologized for its Air Command flying over the Soviet Far East on accident and restricted all U-2s from flying in Cuban airspace. However, photos of the medium and intermediate-range missile facilities were later provided by an Air Force spy plane and analyzed with the help of a CIA double agent who had also been working for the UK.

Analysis:

Latin America was supposed to be under American influence as stated by the Monroe Doctrine, which would explain the tensions between the United States and Cuba when Fidel Castro, a communist leader, assumed power as Prime Minister in 1959 amid Cold War tensions. This tension became a global issue given that the United States was leading with 27,000 nuclear warheads against the Soviet Union’s 3,600, and was in a position to initiate nuclear war. However, the Soviet Union had much at stake in this conflict as well. Firstly, it would be of great advantage to the Soviet Union if they were to gain control of West Berlin. They believe that whether the United States tried to bargain the removal of the Cuban missiles or not, they could gain control of West Berlin either by using the nuclear weapons as leverage or maintaining that their end of the bargain include the trade of the control of West Berlin for their control of Cuba. Nuclear missiles in Latin America would irritate the United States, which is another advantage to the Soviet Union, as it advances the freedom of socialists and provides protection against American naval nuclear weapons, especially considering Cuba’s wariness of another invasion. A U.S. invasion of Cuba would result in great blows to communism, which could be seen as the Soviet Union’s loss of the Cold War. However, the U.S. had been making efforts to avoid conflict, including its apologies for flying military aircraft in Soviet airspace and its refusal to call its naval “quarantine” a “blockade” as a signal that it did not intend war. Furthermore, if it had been referred to or intended as a blockade, it would not have received the support of the Organization of American States, which would have resulted in conflicts between the U.S. and the American States in the Western Hemisphere. Given the aforementioned, it is unclear whether the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies will assume an offensive or defensive stance in this unfolding crisis.

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Questions a resolution must answer:

1. What measures can be taken to ensure illegal attacks on Cuba do not take place after negotiations are complete? 2. What can be done to halt the release of weapons by both sides and maintain peaceful negotiation? 3. How can the tensions between the United States and Cuba be eased in the long term?

Starter Sources:

• Cuban Missile Crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved August, from https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/cuban-missile-crisis • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020, February 04). Cuban missile crisis. Retrieved August, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Cuban-missile-crisis • History.com Editors. (2010, January 04). Cuban Missile Crisis. Retrieved August, from https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis • Khan Academy. (n.d.). The Cuban Missile Crisis (article). Retrieved August, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/1960s-america/a/the- cuban-missile-crisis • Schwarz, B. (2014, February 19). The Real Cuban Missile Crisis. Retrieved August, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/01/the-real-cuban-missile- crisis/309190/ • Chun, S. (2015, July 16). 6 things you didn't know about the Iran hostage crisis. Retrieved July/August, from https://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/27/world/ac-six-things-you- didnt-know-about-the-iran-hostage-crisis/index.html • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Mohammad Mosaddegh. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammad-Mosaddegh———

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Bibliography:

Ansari, A. (n.d.). Modern Iran. Retrieved from https://books.google.ae/books?id=X1YSBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=flo ut the authority of a great power iran&source=bl&ots=kpAMSez3mH&sig=ACfU3U3uHJxS0Csjfo4lShYLtn2vFfyC9w& hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjn24G6ubvqAhVSKBoKHdBJBUsQ6AEwAHoECAYQA Q#v=onepage&q=flout the authority of a great power iran&f=false

Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran. (2010, February 09). Retrieved from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ayatollah-khomeini-returns-to-iran

Cavendish, R. (2001, May 05). The Iranian Oil Fields are Nationalized. Retrieved July/August, from https://www.historytoday.com/archive/iranian-oil-fields-are-nationalised

COLD WAR: CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS. (2016, August 31). Retrieved July/August, from https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/colc.html

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE. (1962). Retrieved July/August, from https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/assets/media_files/000/019/307/19307.pdf

Cuban Missile Crisis. (2003, ). Retrieved July/August, from https://web.archive.org/web/20100527171609/http://future.state.gov/educators/slideshow/ cuba/cuba2.html

FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1952-1954, IRAN, 1951–1954. (1951, May 22). Retrieved July/August, from https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1951-54Iran/d28

Iran Hostage Crisis Fast Facts. (2019, October 30). Retrieved July/August, from https://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/15/world/meast/iran-hostage-crisis-fast-facts/index.html

Iran Hostage Crisis. (2010, June 01). Retrieved July/August, from https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/iran-hostage-crisis

Kinzer, S. (2008, October 01). Inside Iran's Fury. Retrieved July/August, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/inside-irans-fury-11823881/

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (1991, January 01). Iran: Information on SAVAK. Retrieved July/August, from https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aaa724.html

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Ruehsen, M. D. M. (1993). Operation 'Ajax' revisited: Iran, 1953. Middle Eastern Studies, 29(3), 467+.

Shah flees Iran. (2010, July 21). Retrieved from https://www.history.com/this-day-in- history/shah-flees-iran

Stern, S. (1970, January 01). Averting 'the final failure' : John F. Kennedy and the secret Cuban Missile Crisis meetings : Stern, Sheldon M : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming. Retrieved July/August, from https://archive.org/details/avertingthefinal00ster

The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962. (n.d.). Retrieved July/August, from https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis

This background guide has been reviewed and inspected by: 1) The AUDMUN’s executive Department of Committees & Research (Ali A. Kurukçi, Sidra Rahimy). 2) AUD’s Department of International & Middle Eastern Studies (Dr. Elham Seyedsayamdost, Omar Bortolazzi). 3) The Criminal Investigations Department, Abu Dhabi (CID).

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