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Conflicts in the Middle East weren't all great vibes for Jimmy Carter,

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but they weren't all that bad either.

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Kind of like the Spiderman musical from way back when.

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Sure actors were injured, and, yeah, there were negative reviews,

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but, hey, it was nominated for best costume design at the Tony's so that's something.

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Similarly, the Middle East gave Carter some troubles, but he did...

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manage to broker piece between Israel and Egypt...

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with the famous Camp David Accords,

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which was kinda like making cats and dogs agree to share a bowl of food.

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Other than that though,

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the Middle East was Carter's worst nightmare.

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It all began with a coup d'etat.

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Don't all good crises?

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Well, the Shah of Iran, an American ally....

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was overthrown by the followers of...

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Ayatollah Khomeini.

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The Ayatollah was a fundamentalist Shia Muslim leader...

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who supported a return to the Islamic values that...

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the Shah had ditched for Western ideals.

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You know like chowing down on a...

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capitalism deluxe burger and fries.

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Long story short,

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Khomeini was no bro to the U.S.

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He remembered all too well the 1950s...

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when the C.I.A supported the overthrow...

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of Iran's democratically elected...

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prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh,

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"M 'n M" to his friends.

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Yeah, Mossadegh was into democracy, freedom of religion, and human rights...

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all things the U.S. is supposed to be down with.

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But Mossadegh also wanted...

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to nationalize Iranian oil,

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which the U.S. and its allies like about...

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as much as a kick in the face.

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Well, this plan was especially unpopular with the British...

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company, now called B.P.,

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that controlled Iran's oil at the time.

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Well, imagine Prince Charles...

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making a face ten times more sour than the one he usually makes.

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That's how the Brits felt about that.

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Well the threat of rising oil prices was enough...

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to push the C.I.A and British Intelligence...

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to orchestrate a coup to toss him out of power...

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and reinstate the undemocratic Shah.

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So, basically, the U.S. was into making the world safe for democracy,

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so long as it didn't make gas prices...

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go up a lot.

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Anyway, since 1953...

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when the Shah returned to power,

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Iran has been more or less westernizing

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and was being friendly with its oil.

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Khomeini set out to undo the Western...

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leaning policies that had taken root in Iran...

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during the Shah's rule.

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That meant there weren't gonna be any more...

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Iranian Big Macs.

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Well the Shah was exiled from Iran,

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but Carter welcomed him to the U.S....

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to receive medical treatment for cancer.

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All this went over about as well in Iran as if Carter had

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decided to open a pork ribs joint in Tehran.

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A mob stormed the American Embassy...

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and took half as hostages.

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Ayatollah Khomeini thought the mob's actions were just swell,

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and he demanded that the U.S. return the exiles Shah

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and his wealth in return for the 53 hostages.

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The more than yearlong fiasco

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that followed has become known as the Iran Hostage Crisis.

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The militants in Iranan held daily, televised demonstrations

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in front of the Embassy, burning the American Flag and President

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Carter in effigy.

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Well, Carter turned to the U.N., citing Iran's action...

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as a violation of International Law.

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Well, surprise, surprise,

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Khomeini didn't respect the authority of the U.N.,

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and ignored their request for a release of the hostages.

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Carter then tried to wage an economic war with Iran

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He froze all Iranian assets in America and tried to get

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all of America's allies to join in an embargo of Iranian goods.

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The thing is, Iranian supplied oil to much of the Western World,

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so not all nations were willing to take a stand.

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All other world leaders had to do

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was take one look at Carter's approval ratings

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to see what high gas prices could do.

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With the American public clamoring for action,

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Carter authorized a rescue mission in 1980,

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but the raid was aborted when helicopters malfunctioned over the

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dusty Iranian desert

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and another helicopter collided with a

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transport plane, killing eight Americans.

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Nice job there.

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After this, the American public became obsessed with

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the crisis.

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Nightly news coverage showed the protests outside the Embassy,

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hurting Carter's image even further.

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After over 400 days

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as captives, the hostages were finally released

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when Carter unfroze several billion dollars of Iranian assets

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in the U.S. to serve as a ransom.

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But there was no recovering for Carter.

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When Reagan came a-knockin' in 1980,

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the Peanut Farmer President

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lost by a landslide.

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A liberal democrat was tossed out of the White House,

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peanuts and all.

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The conservative 80s had arrived.

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Some think the decade was great.

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Some say it was awful.

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But one thing everyone can agree on...

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the haircuts got worse.

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Yup, way, way worse.

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