EthicalMUN III Special Task Force of United States President James “Jimmy” Carter on the Iran Hostage Crisis Chairs: Calvin Gelernt and Zachary Zemmel Crisis Directors: Isabella Ramos, Kevin He, and Morium Begum EthicalMUNEthicalMUN IIIII Dear Delegates, Welcome to EthicalMUN III and the Iran Hostage Crisis Committee! We hope Theo Dassin that this committee will provide you with an interesting debate around one of the most Co-Secretary General significant moments in the history of the foreign policy of the United States. Over the course of the weekend, your goal will be to bring home the American hostages Iva Knezevic captured by Iranian revolutionaries safely. In doing this, you will examine the ethics Co-Secretary General of American involvement in foreign affairs as well as the value of human life in politics. CormacAlex Keswani Thorpe The purpose of this background guide is to help you in your research for this Co-SecretaryChief of Staff General crisis committee; it has a comprehensive summary of each of the characters and their positions. Additionally, it contains a detailed history of the Iran Hostage Crisis. JulieJacob Johnson Greene However, this background guide is not sufficient for your research on the topic; you Chief of Staff must do additional research. This is a crisis committee, and you should prepare for the possible issues that Ryan Kelly Morium, Izzy, and Kevin, our crisis staff, will create. It is important to note that our OliviaVice-Secretary Becker of committee is a historical committee and begins on November 5, 1979, the day after ChiefCommittees of Staff the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line took 63 American hostages at the American Embassy in Tehran three at the Iranian Foreign Ministry. In this committee, Olivia PollackBecker the chairs will play US President James “Jimmy” Carter, while delegates will be ChiefVice-Secretary of Staff of assigned roles of various individuals involved in the crisis, meaning that the chairs Administration have veto power over any directive that the committee passes. However, in the spirit Halle Friedman of a fair committee, the chairs will not veto any adopted directive unless it is highly UnderHalle SecretaryFriedman General unrealistic. It is important to note that all delegates will play members of the United ofVice-Secretary Committees of States Federal Government during the Carter Administration. Outreach Delegates should make sure they have a comprehensive understanding of the Hannah Platt historical background of the Iran Hostage Crisis and researching their character’s position in the US Federal Government. Furthermore, due to the complex nature of LeilaniUnder Secretary Elkaslasy General this committee, we suggest that delegates have previous experience in crisis Communityof Communications Service Director committees or at least previous experience in MUN. This committee will use some special procedures detailed below. Please make Alex Keswani sure that you understand all of these procedures so that the committee may remain Crisis Director fast-paced. We hope you have a great conference! Jacob Greene Sincerely, Crisis Director Zachary Zemmel ([email protected]), Calvin Gelernt ([email protected]), Morium Begum ([email protected]), Isabella Ramos ([email protected]), and Kevin He ([email protected]) Lily Josephson Crisis Director Iran Hostage Crisis EthicalMUN EthicalMUN II III Crisis Crisis Committee Procedure minute moderated caucus passes, the perpetual moderated caucus will be Like most crisis committees, suspended, and the committee will the parliamentary procedure will be enter the five minute moderated slightly different from General caucus. If there are no points or Assemblies and Specialized motions on the floor, the chair will Committees. The parliamentary revert to the perpetual moderated procedure used in this committee is caucus. optimized for the relatively few people in our committee and the quick responses needed for crises. Amendments and Division of the Question: Perpetual Moderated Caucus: In this committee, all Unlike GA or Specialized amendments to papers will be considered unfriendly and will, Committees, Crisis Committees will therefore, require a two-thirds not have a speakers list, and will majority to pass. Similar to operate under a perpetual moderated amendments, the motion to divide the caucus. A perpetual moderated caucus question requires a two-thirds is a never-ending moderated caucus majority to pass. that runs for the entirety of the committee with no set topic. For this committee, the perpetual moderated Relevant Points and Motions: caucus will have a 30 second • Point of Inquiry speaking time. This perpetual • Point of Information moderated caucus will be suspended • Point of Personal Privilege when a delegate proposes a motion. • Point of Order For example, if a motion for a five • Motion to Open Debate !1 Iran Hostage Crisis EthicalMUN EthicalMUN II III Crisis Crisis • Motion for a Moderated Caucus Directives: • Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus Like GA and Specialized • Motion for a Round Table Committees, Crisis Committees have • Motion to Introduce All Papers on documents that take committee action the Dais with regard to the issue. In Crisis • Motion to Introduce an Amendment committees, this document is called a • Motion to divide the Question Directive. Directives will require a • Motion to Enter Voting Procedure minimum of three people signing the • Motion to Adjourn Debate document, with a minimum of one sponsor and one signatory. Written Papers Crisis Notes: Press Releases: Crisis notes are notes used to Press releases are committee take personal action from a delegate, documents addressed to the public. without the need for committee They can be used to inform or even approval. A character's portfolio misinform the public according to the power, therefore, binds crisis notes. desires of the committee. Similar to Also, no troop movements will be Directives, Press Releases will require approved through crisis notes. a minimum of three people on the Instead, all troop movements require a document, with a minimum of one committee directive. Please ensure to sponsor and one signatory. sign your character’s name at the end of your crisis note and address it to Like all committees, CRISIS on the front of your folded collaborating with other delegates is note. strongly recommended. However, in a Crisis Committee, it is also !2 Iran Hostage Crisis EthicalMUN EthicalMUN II III Crisis Crisis encouraged that one stays in character an increasingly autocratic leader who and acts in accordance with their ordered the jailing of dozens of character’s motivations. political opponents, causing him to become even more unpopular. Furthermore, his primary support now Historical Background came from the Tudeh Party, Iran’s In 1951, Mohammad Communist Party. Starting in Mosaddegh was elected as Iranian mid-1953, The Tudeh Party led pro- prime minister. As Prime Minister, Mosaddegh rallies and engaged in Mosaddegh led a strike against political violence.2 Finally, Britain’s Anglo-Iranian Oil Company Mosaddegh signed a decree (AIOC) (now a part of BP) to get a dissolving Iran’s Parliament, giving share of the company’s profits and to himself almost absolute power. The limit the control over Iran’s oil nationalization of Iranian oil along reserves. After AIOC refused to with fears of a communist takeover in cooperate with the Iranian Iran led British Prime Minister government, Iran’s Majlis Winston Churchill and US President (Parliament) voted to nationalize Dwight D. Eisenhower to back a coup Iran’s oil industry and expel foreign d’etat under the British name oil companies and representatives. Operation Boot and the American Britain subsequently led a global name Operation Ajax. Mossadegh was boycott of Iranian Oil, resulting in an overthrown and replaced by General economic collapse in Iran. This Fazlollah Zahedi.3 economic collapse caused Mosaddegh Although Zahedi was the prime to become increasingly unpopular in minister and remained as such until Iran and lose support with the 1955, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (“The working class.1 Mosaddegh became Shah”) became the true leader of Iran. !3 Iran Hostage Crisis EthicalMUN EthicalMUN II III Crisis Crisis Previously, the role of Shah was one fundamentalist population of Iran, led of a constitutional monarch that acted by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, one with incredibly limited power in of the main figures in the Shi’a comparison to that of the prime Muslim revivalist movement minister. Iran continued to have a spreading through Iran at the time. prime minister until the position was This movement called for an end to abolished in 1989, however, the role the Westernization of Islamic nations of The Shah switched from that of a and a return to governance by constitutional monarch that governed fundamentalist Islamic religious law in accordance with the prime minister (Sharia).7 In 1964, The Shah exiled to an effectively absolute monarch.4 Ayatollah Khomeini to Turkey In 1967, The Shah took the title because of The Ayatollah’s opposition Shahanshah, meaning “king of kings,” to The Shah’s leadership which led to essentially giving him total control three days of riots throughout Iran.8 over the Iranian government.5 The Shah’s opposition to The leadership of The Shah communist policies and support of brought some reform in Iran. Starting Western oil and military interests in 1963, The Shah implemented the caused the Federal Government of the policies of the “White Revolution,” United