Event 341
Ben Macintyre
The Siege: The Remarkable Story of the Greatest SAS Hostage Drama
– Global Stage
On the last day of April 1980, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian embassy in London, taking 26 hostages. A tense six-day siege ensued, and millions gathered around screens to witness the longest news flash in British television history, in which police negotiators and psychiatrists sought a bloodless end to the standoff, while the SAS – previously an organisation shrouded in secrecy – laid plans for a daring rescue mission: Operation Nimrod.
Historian Ben Macintyre draws on unpublished source material, exclusive interviews with the SAS and testimony from witnesses including hostages to tell the drama-filled story of the Iranian embassy siege.
Macintyre’s books include Colditz and Agent Sonya. Several have been made into films and television series, including Operation Mincemeat, A Spy Among Friends and SAS: Rogue Heroes.
