Part 1 |Taken Hostage | American Experience

Revisit the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, when 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, through stories of those whose ordeal riveted the world.

From Jimmy Carter's "Crisis of Confidence" speech to the Hostage Crisis, here's a look at each year from 1970 to 1979.

The secret plan by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) to overthrow the then-democratically-elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.

President Jimmy Carter confronted one of the most significant challenges of his presidency during the Iran hostage crisis.

Mohammad Reza Pahlav, the last Shah of Iran consolidated power after a CIA-backed coup in 1953 overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.

Hilary Brown was the first female foreign correspondent at ABC News. Her coverage included first-hand reports on the fall of Saigon, the Rwandan genocide, and the Iranian Revolution.

Barry Rosen was the press attaché at the U.S. embassy in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis. He first visited Iran in 1967 on a two-year Peace Corps mission and fell in love with the country and pursued graduate studies in Iranian language and culture.

Who's who of the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Watch the opening sequence of film, Taken Hostage from American Experience.

On April 24, 1980, after 172 days of captivity, a U.S. Armed Forces operation attempted to rescue the hostages. Colonel James Q. Roberts recalls the details of the failed Iran Hostage rescue mission.

Watch a preview of Part One of Taken Hostage.

Watch a preview of Part Two of Taken Hostage.