Perhaps one of the most notorious failures of the American intelligence services was the Eagle Claw or Delta operation of 1980, which ended before it even started. At that time, aggressive American authorities had not yet pursued a democratic policy and were ready for active hostilities, especially when it came to conflicts in the Middle East.
Therefore, in the early eighties, the Pentagon easily planned offensive, reconnaissance, or top-secret assault operations, not caring about what situations in world politics this could lead to and how it would end for the reputation of the United States of America as a democratic secular state.
Later, in the mid-nineties of the last century, America changed its approach to the political game, heading for the gradual restoration of peaceful foreign policy. The US military began to actively destroy evidence of the aggressive policies of the past, sweeping tracks and eliminating all witnesses to various bloody slaughter in third world countries.
And for a long time no one remembered anything about Operation Eagle Claw of 1980, until in 2013 the movie Argo was released, telling about the events from the American point of view. The public rhetoric that arose after the premiere of the film again returned the public to a discussion of America’s foreign policy at the end of the last century, which allowed many untreated facts to surface.
Eagle Claw and Delta
The operation, which had already become a kind of legend, as well as a deplorable example of the work of the CIA, was carried out on April 24, 1980. The essence of the planned military operations carried out by the armed forces of the United States of America came down to the release of fifty-three hostages captured by revolutionary Iranian students at the US Embassy in Tehran.
The operation ended in complete failure, without even entering its first phase. More than forty years have passed since the moment of this special operation, however, the story still stores almost all the information about it. The available information that has been leaked to the media and various print media does not correspond in all respects to the truth that has remained forever hidden in the secret archives of the Central Intelligence Agency, which were long destroyed.
Start of conflict
Political events in Tehran, which led to the planning by the American forces of the ill-fated Operation Eagle Claw in 1980, began with a regular student revolt. Some sources report that the uprising was indeed organized by Iranian students; other evidence suggests that the revolutionaries were ardent religious fanatics and followers of Imam Khomeini, who opened his school in Tehran in the late sixties and preached the basics of radical Islam.
On November 4, 1979, four hundred members of the Muslim Students Organization suddenly attacked the United States Embassy. By a strange coincidence, the Iranian police did not put up a guard detachment at the gates of the embassy, ​​whose powers included the protection and protection of the embassy staff. All the time before the uprising, the detachment was in the embassy building, however, on the day of the conflict it was absent.
Embassy workers made several requests for assistance from the Iranian police, but all requests were ignored, and only a small detachment of American marines remained in the building, who were in the embassy as internal personal guard for the employees.
After several hours of fierce resistance, the inner garrison was forced to retreat and surrender. Due to the large number of attackers, even such effective means of dispersal of demonstrations as tear gas and rubber batons were ineffective. The students were well armed and opened fire, killing about twenty people and seriously damaging the embassy building itself.
Seizure of power
By evening, the building was completely occupied, and the revolutionaries made an official statement, announcing that all these actions were only a degeneration of protest against the fact that America granted political asylum to the former Shah of Iran. Also, according to the revolutionaries, this action was to be a demonstration of pride and freedom of the Iranian people and their disagreement with the policies of the United States of America, trying to weaken the religious power in the country. Students argued that, despite all the machinations of Western intelligence agencies, the “Islamic revolution” would still take place on the land of Iran, and also demanded the immediate issuance of the shah to bring him to a revolutionary people's court.
Excited religious fanatics for a long time could not calm down, provoking the civilian population and agitating them to go to rallies and demonstrations against America, as well as asking for support for the revolutionary movement designed to free all Iranians from Western oppression. The protesters chanted radical slogans, shouted quotes from the Koran and burned the state flags of the United States and Israel.
All the country's media and print media uninterruptedly provided civilians with information about the events, as well as about the successes of the revolutionaries in the liberation of Iran. Live broadcasts from rallies and armed clashes were shown on television, and newspapers and magazines were full of photographs from the scene of hostilities. The radio buzzed from the abundance of radical information received from all religious, political and social organizations of Iran.
In total, about seventy people were taken hostage by the terrorists. However, soon fourteen of them were released. The Islamists considered it necessary to release part of the hostages for propaganda purposes, but there was not a single white American among the liberated.
Fifty-four people were held captive by the radical revolutionaries.
Despite the fact that the revolutionaries made great efforts to present everything that happened as a secular coup, it immediately became clear to everyone that a religious coup had taken place in Iran, during which the secular power and the old clergy were abolished and the reins fell into the hands of the radical Islamists.
US reaction
The question of further relations with Iran has long remained open. Moreover, before choosing a new course for foreign policy, the American government needed to fully understand the situation. The United States of America had many treaties concluded with the previous Iranian government, and now the new government demanded that America fulfill its obligations. But the United States was slow, as the new government of Iran was not represented by politicians and civilians, but by armed rebel fighters propagating the ideas of radical Islam.
Having chosen a policy of temporary non-interference in the internal affairs of the young Islamic government, the US government concluded an agreement with it, within the framework of which it was possible to bring about seven thousand US citizens to their homeland. Also, the Americans were able to remove their military equipment and reconnaissance equipment from the country, which had long been near the Soviet border and could provoke a military conflict with the USSR if Soviet intelligence knew about it.
However, the cooperation of the two states ended on this, as the American authorities refused to renew the agreement on the supply of powerful new generation weapons with the new government. Of course, the US authorities were ready to make concessions and ship the weapons ordered by Iran during the reign of the Shah. But with one condition - along with weapons, the military units of the American army should also have arrived in the country, which, in essence, meant military expansion with the goal of returning everything to their former places.
In late October, the Shah, located in America, needed medical attention. This gave the American authorities a reason to say that the shah needs urgent hospitalization, and he is in America for treatment, having only a temporary visa, as a patient in one of the clinics.
After that, radical proponents of Khomeini’s ideology decided to put pressure on the United States and at the same time remove the remnants of the legitimate Iranian government. Despite the absence of a clear threat to the lives and security of the hostages languishing at the embassy, ​​the US president ordered the preparation of a possible military operation to rescue them. The operation "Eagle Claw" or "Delta", which appeared in the beginning of 1980, was the very tragically ended mission, which was not destined to influence the course of events.
The legitimate government of Iran suddenly decided to show firmness and, in the absence of the shah, try to restore its power and authority, declaring to America that it will make every effort to resolve the conflict peacefully, however, on November 6, Tehran’s radio transmitted the official resignation letter from the Prime Minister of Iran to Khomeini name.
The spiritual leader of the terrorists granted the request, and at the same time transferred all power into the hands of the “Islamic Revolutionary Council,” which from now on was to solve all state and political issues, from choosing the course of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy to the presidential and mejlis elections.
So, with the capture of just one building, the famous “Islamic revolution” was organized. Most history scholars believe that if the Eagle Claw or Delta operation planned by the US government were successful in 1980, then perhaps there would never have been any religious revolution in the Middle East.
Attempted diplomatic confrontation
Meanwhile, large-scale, by the standards of the country, political events unfolded in Iran. At the beginning of winter, a popular referendum held at the insistence of Khomeini approved the new government and the very fact of the overthrow of past power. In January 1980, a new president was elected, and in March - May, supporters of radical Islam also formed a parliament. By September, the revolutionaries managed to create a permanent government capable of representing the country's diplomatic interests in the international arena.
In response to this, the US government also decided to take drastic measures by freezing all financial assets belonging to Iran, as well as announcing an embargo on oil produced in Iran. In addition to these measures, all diplomatic relations with Iran were severed, and a full economic boycott of the country was introduced.
The situation was clearly becoming more complicated, the international atmosphere was heating up, and the US president decided to take a different path, giving the order to put into effect the project for the operation “Eagle Claw” in Iran. Of course, then both sides were quite optimistic, and none of the opponents even imagined how this confrontation could end. The American government, confident in its abilities, could not even think about the possible failure of the Delta.
Preparation for the operation did not take much time. One of the most difficult processes in the preparation of the mission was the intelligence process, since the U.S. citizens in Iran were extremely unfriendly, and it was decided not to send a special detachment to the intelligence, but to illegally launch a drone with a camera over the territory of an unfriendly country.
In April 1980, Jimmy Carter gave a direct order to begin the first stage of Operation Eagle Claw, which at that time was called Rice Pot.
Mission plan
According to the developed action strategy, a special detachment was supposed to secretly penetrate Iranian territory on six transport planes, and if three of them were to carry soldiers of the American army, the remaining three were loaded to the top with fuel, ammunition and everything necessary for the successful operation.
It was planned to refuel aircraft and provide soldiers with weapons and ammunition in a secret facility, code-named "Desert-1", located near Tehran. The object was well guarded by the soldiers of the American army who had been transported there in advance.
By the standards of the time, Operation Eagle Claw was quite massive, given that its ultimate goal was to free a total of fifty-four people. That same night, fighters of a special group were to receive air support, for which the link of combat helicopters was responsible.
Further, the Delta group, which consisted of selected parts of the American special forces, would board the helicopters and safely reach a predetermined place near Tehran, where the vehicles were left to wait for the soldiers along with the rescued captives, and the military went to the capital in six trucks disguised as regular trucks owned by one of the local fruit companies.
On the night of April 26, the group was supposed to storm the embassy, ​​release the hostages and call helicopters for fire support, as well as to transfer people to a safe place. According to the calculations of the US military, in the morning, the citizens of the country, together with the military, were supposed to return to their homeland safe and sound.
That was the initial plan of the mission, and I must say that none of the top ranks of the American military leadership expected the Delta to fail.
Start of operation
Since the start of the mission, circumstances began to take shape not in favor of the US Army. According to all the prepared documents describing the “Eagle Claw”, the operation should have gone smoothly and silently, but fate decreed otherwise.
The first stage of the special mission was successful - the S-130 squadron made a successful relocation to Egypt. The US authorities were able to convince the government that military units were introduced into it only for the sake of large-scale exercises, in which the Egyptian army could take part. From the temporary American base in Morocco, some of the soldiers who were to be directly involved in the operation were sent to the island of Masirah, which is under the jurisdiction of Oman. A thorough and final preparation for the fulfillment of the mission was carried out here.
On the night of April 24, the planes once again reduced the distance to Tehran by flying across the Gulf of Oman.
From this moment, the failure of Operation Delta Force begins. The place to land the flying tanks was chosen extremely unsuccessfully. In addition, almost immediately after the landing of one of the planes, a bus passed along a nearby road, which the American soldiers were forced to stop and hold in order to maintain the secrecy of the mission. Before they could destroy the traces of their stay, a tank filled with aviation kerosene appeared on the road. The FBI special forces immediately took decisive action, simply destroying the fuel truck with a salvo from an infantry grenade launcher.
An explosion of such power thundered that it immediately became clear - the operation was ruined in the bud. Colonel Beckwith, in charge of the mission, analyzed the situation:
- Two combat helicopters are irretrievably lost.
- A pillar of flame from a dying fuel truck is visible from afar and serves as an excellent signal for enemies.
Under these conditions, the commander made a decision - it was necessary to withdraw the remaining troops and wait for another opportunity to complete the Eagle Claw mission.
Catastrophe
However, he did not manage to give an order to terminate the operation. One of the transport helicopters accompanying the mission was unable to complete the maneuver on time and crashed into the Hercules full of fuel at full speed. A powerful explosion destroyed all the fuel in store for the operation. Soon, the fire spread to the field depots with weapons, and the desert turned into one continuous flaming torch. The fate of Operation Eagle Claw was decided.
Not far from the refueling site was a commando camp, which screamed and fired at the base, taking the explosions of burning cartridges for an attack by militants. The guys started shooting at each other, and a lot of time passed before the parties realized that they were allies. " " .
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A number of military historians believe that the failure of the Eagle Claw was predictable. And the point here is not at all the professionalism of the American soldiers, but the insufficient elaboration of the details of the operation. The essence of the problem lies in the fact that under conditions similar to those in Iran, conducting operations such as "Eagle Claw" was simply impractical. The situation in Iran implied two solutions: either a full-fledged military invasion of the country, or diplomatic negotiations. The US government tried to create a solution.
Which was somewhere in the middle between the two above, which led to the tragedy. Due to an attempt to comply with all conditions and predict all possible failures, the plan of the operation turned out to be too complicated and overloaded. It was impossible to carry out the Eagle Claw in Iran, based on any scenario. The abundance of military equipment concentrated to fulfill the mission simply could not adequately interact with each other due to lack of space.
You can also question the success of the operation if the US armed forces still managed to get to Tehran, the fierce resistance of local rebels would lead to a bloody massacre that would develop into a long war.
After failure
After the failure of the “Eagle Claw” operation, the Secretary of State of the United States of America stepped back from fulfilling his duties, and the government began to urgently develop a plan for a new operation, which was to begin the war in the Middle East. Despite Iran’s attempts to cope with the situation on its own, the American government nevertheless decided to immediately invade the territory of an unfriendly country in order to free the hostages and restore the former political regime. The new mission was code-named "Badger" and was supposed to be a logical continuation of the operation "Eagle Claw 1980".