American Hostages in Iran Less than a month after Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took Americans hostage, the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of thirteen hostages, all women or African Americans, because he believed they were not spies and had already endured “the oppression of American society.” Here, in front of propaganda, they are presented to the press shortly before their release. © Bettmann/Corbis.