Six things you didn’t know about the Iran hostage crisis

It has been more than 35 years since a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took a group of Americans hostage. You have seen this story play out in movies like “Argo” and shows like “Homeland,” but here are six things about the Iran hostage crisis that you may not have known.

1) This conflict is often described as the United States’ first brush with political Islam.

In 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini installed an anti-Western Islamic theocracy, which replaced the pro-Western monarchy of the Shah of Iran. The U.S. was referred to as “the Great Satan” by the new Iranian government, and Iranians looked at the United States with suspicion because of its role in keeping the Shah in power. Iranians felt the United States meddled too much in Iran’s internal affairs, and were afraid the CIA was plotting to return the Shah to power. The Ayatollah himself blessed the hostage-taking at the embassy, further fueling the government’s hard line against the United States.

2) The U.S. Embassy in Tehran warned Washington the embassy would be attacked.

By October 1979, the Shah had fled Iran and was staying in Mexico. There, doctors discovered the Shah was suffering from an aggressive cancer and recommended he be admitted to a hospital in the United States. The situation in Tehran was already tense, and the head of the diplomatic mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran sent several cables to Washington, saying that if the Shah was allowed to come to the United States for treatment, the embassy would be taken. President Jimmy Carter allowed the Shah into the United States, with much hesitation, and the Iranians were outraged. They saw this as an excuse to bring the Shah to the United States to plot his return to power. This was just weeks before the embassy was attacked.

3) Some of the hostages were beaten and tortured, and even underwent a mock execution.

Iran has maintained a narrative that the hostages were treated well, but that is not true. Not all the hostages were treated the same. The two women, Ann Swift and Kathryn Koob, said they were treated “correctly” by their captors, but others, including Al Golacinski, John Limbert and Rick Kupke, were subject to a mock execution, where they were awakened in the middle of the night, forced to strip to their underwear and marched to a room in the basement where their guards made it seem they were about to be executed by firing squad. The guards fired their weapons, but they were not loaded. Then the guards laughed. Why did they do it? Limbert said it was because “they thought it would be fun.”

4) The hostages were released only after President Reagan was sworn in.

Ted Koppel described this as the Iranians’ last act of cruelty toward President Carter. Even though the United States and Iran had come to an agreement to free the hostages in December, the Iranians waited literally until the hour President Reagan was sworn in before allowing the plane with the hostages to take off. The Iranians had a deep hatred of Carter and wanted to deny him this last moment of victory as President.

5) After the hostages were released, they met with President Jimmy Carter.

William Daugherty, who was held in solitary confinement for almost the entire time he was a hostage, said, “It was not a warm welcome” when Jimmy Carter flew to the U.S. military base in Germany to meet the hostages right after their release. The hostages were split on their thinking. Many felt they were left unprotected in the embassy after Carter made the decision to allow the Shah into the United States. Daugherty said that during the meeting, Carter went around to hug all the hostages, and many remained still with their arms at their sides and did not return his hug.

6) The former U.S. Embassy in Tehran has been preserved as a museum.

The embassy in Tehran is now an Islamic cultural center and a museum, preserved from the days when it was a prison in 1979. It stands as a symbol of the Iranian revolution, and is known in Iran as the “den of spies.” Old typewriters, communication equipment, even old visa photos, are on display. Every year on the anniversary of the hostage taking, Iranians hold rallies where “Death to America” is chanted, just as it was in 1979.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Pop culture and politics collided on December 21, 1970, when the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley, visited President Richard Nixon in the White House Oval Office. The '70s may have been many things, but boring sure wasn't one of them. Check out 70 of the most unforgettable moments of the decade. For more, watch the CNN Original Series "The Seventies."

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Apollo 13 returns safely to Earth —

The Apollo 13 spacecraft was intended to be the third landing on the moon, but the NASA crew aborted its mission after an oxygen tank exploded on board. The astronauts landed in the South Pacific on April 17, 1970. Here, lunar module pilot Fred W. Haise Jr. is about to be hoisted up to a recovery helicopter from the USS Iwo Jima.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

PHOTO: John Filo/AP

Kent State massacre —

Four students died and nine others were wounded on May 4, 1970, when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University in Ohio. In this Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, taken by Kent State photojournalism student John Filo, Mary Ann Vecchio can be seen screaming as she kneels by the body of slain student Jeffrey Miller.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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The Beatles call it quits —

The "Fab Four," pictured here in 1970, released their final album, "Let It Be," on May 8, 1970. The album came one month after Paul McCartney announced the group's breakup.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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'Flying Bobby' —

In one moment, Bobby Orr became a hockey legend. On May 10, 1970, Orr scored an overtime goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, giving the Boston Bruins their first championship since 1941. In 1971, Orr signed the first million-dollar contract in NHL history -- $200,000 a year for five years -- and in 1979 he became the youngest NHL Hall of Famer when he was inducted at the age of 31.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Gay rights movement gains popularity —

Gay rights activists Foster Gunnison and Craig Rodwell lead a gay rights march in New York on June 28, 1970, then known as Gay Liberation Day. The march was held on the first anniversary of the police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village. The raid led to demonstrations and protests by the gay community. The Stonewall riots helped bring together the gay community in New York, and by 1971 gay rights groups had formed in almost all of the major cities in America.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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'Hey! Ho! Let's go!' —

The '70s ushered in a new musical movement that put a premium on speed, simplicity and raw power. Bands like the Ramones, pictured, and the Sex Pistols put to waste the trippy, hippie music of the '60s, replacing it with short, fast songs filled with attitude and angst. It could only be called one thing: punk.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Indira Gandhi re-elected —

Indira Gandhi, the only woman to ever hold the office of Prime Minister of India, won a second term in a landslide victory in March 1971. She would be re-elected to a fourth term in 1980, but she was assassinated by two of her bodyguards in 1984.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Disney World opens —

A crowd in Orlando waits for Walt Disney World's Main Street to open in October 1971. The park cost an estimated $400 million to build and now attracts around 25 million visitors annually. When Disney World opened in 1971, the price for admission was $3.50. A single-day ticket now is $105 for anyone over 10 years old.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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'Bloody Sunday' —

On January 30, 1972, British soldiers opened fire against protesters in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, who were marching against British rule. Thirteen people were killed on the scene, and more than a dozen were injured. After the shooting, recruitment and support for the Irish Republican Army skyrocketed. Three decades of violence known as The Troubles followed, and almost 3,000 people died.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Nixon in China —

Richard Nixon became the first U.S. President to visit China. His trip in February 1972 was an important step in building a relationship between the two countries.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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'Napalm Girl' —

Associated Press photographer Nick Ut photographed terrified children running from the site of a napalm attack during the Vietnam War in June 1972. A South Vietnamese plane accidentally dropped napalm on its own troops and civilians. Nine-year-old Kim Phuc, center, ripped off her burning clothes while fleeing. The image communicated the horrors of the war and contributed to the growing anti-war sentiment in the United States. After taking the photograph, Ut took the children to a hospital.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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'Hanoi Jane' —

In July 1972, in the midst of the Vietnam War, actress Jane Fonda visited the North Vietnamese city of Hanoi and criticized the U.S. role in the war, leading many to call her "anti-American." Earlier this year, Fonda called the trip an "incredible experience" but expressed some regret. "It hurts me, and it will to my grave, that I made a huge, huge mistake that made a lot of people think I was against the soldiers," Fonda said during an appearance in Frederick, Maryland.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Porn goes mainstream —

In any other year it might sound strange, but in 1972 one of the most popular films of the year was a porno. "Deep Throat" was one of the first pornographic films to receive mainstream attention, and it made $3 million in its first six months of release. It also took on an additional layer of cultural significance when the secret informant in the Watergate scandal went by the pseudonym "Deep Throat."

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Cold War chess championship —

American Bobby Fischer, right, and Russian Boris Spassky play their last game of chess together in Reykjavik, Iceland, on August 31, 1972. Fischer defeated Spassky to become the World Chess Champion, ending a Soviet win streak that dated to 1948.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Terror at the Olympics —

On September 5, 1972, the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, were in the throes of a hostage crisis. Two Israeli athletes had been killed and nine taken hostage by members of Black September, a Palestinian terrorist movement demanding the release of political prisoners by the Israeli government. Hours later, all nine hostages, five terrorists and one police officer were dead.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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The perfect season —

The Miami Dolphins, coached by Don Shula, win Super Bowl VII in January 1973 and become the only NFL team in history to win a championship with an undefeated record.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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'I'll make him an offer he can't refuse' —

"The Godfather," directed by Francis Ford Coppola, took home several Academy Awards in March 1973, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film was based on the best-selling novel by Mario Puzo and starred, from left, James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Cazale. Brando won the Oscar for Best Actor.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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The Triple Crown —

Secretariat races toward the finish line, blowing away the field in record time to win the Belmont Stakes in June 1973. With the victory, Secretariat became the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Citation in 1948. The Triple Crown was won two other times in the '70s, by Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978. In 2015, American Pharoah became the first horse to take the Triple Crown in 37 years.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Chicago's record-setting giant —

In 1973, the Sears Tower opened in Chicago, overtaking the World Trade Center as the tallest building in the world. The tower, now known as the Willis Tower, is the second-tallest building in the United States today.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Bruce Lee dies —

Martial-arts actor Bruce Lee, seen here training in a scene from the film "Enter the Dragon," dies in July 1973 just days before the movie's release. He was 32. The film would cement Lee's legend and bring martial arts to the forefront of pop culture.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Scandal in the Nixon administration —

U.S. Vice President Spiro T. Agnew addresses the media on August 8, 1973, saying he would not resign while being investigated on charges of tax fraud, bribery and conspiracy. However, Agnew resigned in October 1973 after pleading no contest to a single count of income-tax evasion. He was the second vice president to resign in U.S. history.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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The 'Twin Towers' —

From the time of their completion in 1973 until their destruction in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, The World Trade Center's twin towers stood as an iconic part of the New York City skyline.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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'Battle of the Sexes' —

In a nationally televised tennis match on September 20, 1973, Bobby Riggs, a former No. 1 tennis player, took on Billie Jean King, one of the top female tennis players at the time. Earlier in the year, Riggs put out a challenge to all female tennis players, saying no woman could beat him. King beat Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 and claimed a $100,000 prize.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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'The Exorcist' hits theaters —

"The Exorcist," based off the best-selling novel by William Peter Blatty about a demonically possessed 12-year-old girl, was released in December 1973. It went on to become one of the most popular films of all time. It was the first horror film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, and Blatty won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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The pocket calculator —

By 1973, Clive Sinclair had introduced a series of pocket calculators that changed the industry, making calculators small and light enough to fit in your pocket. They were not only much smaller and thinner than their competitors, but also much cheaper, making their advanced technology available to the masses.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Energy crisis —

Cars in Brooklyn, New York, line up for gas in January 1974. In October 1973, an oil embargo imposed by members of OPEC led to skyrocketing gas prices and widespread fuel shortages.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Hammerin' Hank —

Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's career home run record, hitting home run No. 715 at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium in April 1974. Aaron finished his career with 755 home runs, a record that stood until Barry Bonds broke it in 2007.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Baryshnikov defects —

Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, left, tapes a TV special in Canada, where he defected in June 1974. Soon after, Baryshnikov moved to the United States and started working with the New York City Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre. In 1979, he earned an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in the film "The Turning Point."

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Nixon resigns —

U.S. President Richard Nixon gestures in the doorway of a helicopter on August 9, 1974, after leaving the White House following his resignation over the Watergate scandal. Nixon's resignation marked the end to one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history, which began in 1972 after a break-in at the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate complex. Five men were arrested for the burglary, and the FBI and Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were able to trace them back to Nixon and the White House.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Power of the press —

Reporters Bob Woodward, right, and Carl Bernstein sit in the newsroom of the Washington Post newspaper in May 1973. Woodward and Bernstein's reporting on the Watergate scandal led to President Nixon's resignation and won them a Pulitzer Prize. In 1976, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman would portray the pair in the film adaptation of their book "All the President's Men."

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s

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Cover girl —

Beverly Johnson made history in August 1974 when she became the first African-American model to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine in the United States.

Photos: 70 historic moments from the 1970s