Thirty-five years ago, militant students supporting Iran's Islamic Revolution stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took scores of hostages. Ultimately, 52 Americans were held for 444 days. Click through the gallery to see how the crisis unfolded.
In 1978, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's authoritarian rule sparks demonstrations and riots in Iran. Government buildings and shops were looted, furniture was set ablaze and documents were thrown into the streets.
The Shah shakes hands with a minister of the new civilian government in Tehran on January 6, 1979. Ten days later, he fled the country and headed to Egypt.
Demonstrators celebrating the Shah's departure flood the streets of Tehran on January 17, 1979.
After 14 years in exile, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to lead Iran on February 1, 1979.
Iranian students climb over the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979.
After storming the embassy, a group of students took 90 people hostage, including 66 Americans. They demanded the extradition of the Shah from the United States, where the ousted ruler was receiving cancer treatment. Ayatollah Khomeini issued a statement of support for the students' actions.
One of the student kidnappers presents pictures of the hostages during a news conference on November 8, 1979.
Demonstrators burn an effigy of Uncle Sam outside the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 13, 1979. They had gathered to show support for the Iranian militants who took over the embassy. The effigy was branded with "CIA" on its arm.
A group of released U.S. Embassy staffers in Tehran hold a press conference on November 19, 1979. Khomeini ordered the release of female and African-American hostages, bringing the total number of Americans held to 53. Another hostage was later released due to illness.
From right, President Jimmy Carter, Vice President Walter Mondale, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and Secretary of Defense Harold Brown disembark from their helicopter to meet about the Iran hostage crisis at Camp David in Maryland on November 23, 1979. President Carter ordered Iranian assets in U.S. banks frozen and eventually cut diplomatic ties with Iran.
One of the kidnappers stands guard on the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 30, 1979.
Six American Embassy employees avoided capture by hiding in the homes of Canadian Embassy officers. Aided by the Canadian government and the CIA, they fled Iran on January 28, 1980. From left, Kathleen Stafford, Cora Lijek, Mark Lijek and Joseph Stafford are seen here during a visit to Toronto in February 1980.
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, second from left, visits with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Cairo on April 17, 1980. The deposed Shah had returned to Egypt in March 1980.
Remains of a burned-out American helicopter are seen in front of an abandoned chopper in the eastern desert of Iran in April 1980. Eight U.S. servicemen were killed when a helicopter and a transport plane collided during a failed attempt to rescue the hostages.
The Shah dies of cancer in Egypt on July 27, 1980. Former U.S. President Richard Nixon was among those in attendance at his funeral in Cairo.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan is sworn into office on January 20, 1981. President Carter's inability to successfully negotiate the release of the hostages had become a major political liability.
Minutes after Reagan's 1981 inauguration, the remaining U.S. hostages are released. They were flown to Wiesbaden Air Base in Germany, and the terms of their release included the unfreezing of Iranian assets.
A caravan of buses carrying the former hostages and their relatives makes its way through the cheering crowd on Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue on January 27, 1981.
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1979 Iran hostage crisis
(CNN) -- Here's a look at the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, in which 52 U.S. citizens were held captive for 444 days.
Timeline:
1978 - Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's authoritarian rule sparks demonstrations and riots.
January 16, 1979 - The Shah flees Iran and goes to Egypt.
February 1, 1979 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 14 years in exile, to lead the country.
October 22, 1979 - The Shah is allowed to enter the United States to receive medical treatment for cancer.
November 4, 1979 - Iranian students demonstrating outside of the U.S. embassy in Tehran storm the embassy and take 90 people hostage including 66 Americans. The students demand the extradition of the Shah from the United States. Ayatollah Khomeini issues a statement of support for the students' actions.
November 5, 1979 - The Iranian government cancels military treaties with the U.S. and the Soviet Union, treaties that would permit U.S. or Soviet military intervention.
November 6, 1979 - Premier Mehdi Bazargan and his government resign, leaving Ayatollah Khomeini and the Revolutionary Council in power.
November 7, 1979 - President Jimmy Carter sends former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Senate Intelligence Committee staff director William Miller to Iran to negotiate the release of the hostages. Ayatollah Khomeini refuses to meet with them.
November 14, 1979 - President Carter orders Iranian assets in U.S. banks frozen.
November 17, 1979 - Khomeini orders the release of female and African-American hostages. They are released November 19 and 20, bringing the total number of U.S. hostages to 53.
December 4, 1979 - The United Nations Security Council passes a resolution calling for Iran to release the hostages.
December 15, 1979 - The Shah leaves the United States for Panama.
January 28, 1980 - Six American embassy employees, who avoided capture and hid in the homes of Canadian Embassy officers, flee Iran. In 1997 it is revealed that, along with the Canadian government, the CIA made the escape possible.
March 1980 - The Shah returns to Egypt.
April 7, 1980 - President Carter cuts diplomatic ties with Iran, announcing further sanctions and ordering all Iranian diplomats to leave the United States.
April 25, 1980 - Eight U.S. servicemen are killed when a helicopter and a transport plane collide during a failed attempt to rescue the hostages.
July 11, 1980 - Another hostage is released due to illness. The total number of U.S. hostages is now 52.
July 27, 1980 - The Shah dies of cancer in Egypt.
September 12, 1980 - Ayatollah Khomeini sets new terms for the hostages' release, including the return of the late Shah's wealth and the unfreezing of Iranian assets.
November 1980-January 1981 - Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher and his delegation work through mediators in Algeria to negotiate the release of the hostages.
January 19, 1981 - The United States and Iran sign an agreement to release the hostages and unfreeze Iranian assets.
January 20, 1981 - The remaining 52 U.S. hostages are released and flown to Wiesbaden Air Base in Germany.