Operation Nimrod: The Iranian Embassy Siege

by Russell Phillips

On 29th April 1980, British police assured Iran that their embassy was secure. The very next day, terrorists stormed the embassy and took twenty-six hostages. With the Iranian government willing to let the hostages become martyrs, and the British government only willing to talk if the terrorists surrendered, twenty-six lives hung in the balance.

What followed was six days of tension and terror. It was finally ended when the SAS launched a daring rescue mission, broadcast live on television. Millions held their breath, waiting to see the outcome of Operation Nimrod.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook

118 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2015

About the author

Russell Phillips writes military history and RPG books. Born and brought up in a mining village in South Yorkshire, they have lived and worked in South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Cumbria and Staffordshire. Russell has always had a deep interest in history and conflicts all over the world, and enjoys sharing their knowledge with others through clear, factual accounts which shine a light on events of the past.

Their articles have been published in Miniature Wargames, Wargames Illustrated, The Wargames Website, and the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers' Journal. They have been interviewed on WW2TV, BBC Radio Stoke, The WW2 Podcast, and Cold War Conversations. They currently live in Stoke-on-Trent with their wife and two children.

Reviews

[Jennifer Kirkwood (Levac) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. See more reviews on Genuinejenn.com

Each year I try and step outside of my comfort spot for books and this is one of them, normally I do not read/listen to war/history/military stuff. My husband is the war/history buff and to be honest I am usually lost when it comes to that type of stuff. I am also just venturing into audiobooks with a few under my belt.

Operation Nimrod, I'll be honest I didn't even know that this had happened almost 35 years ago. When I first started listening to this I was thinking is this for real or a fiction story? I never really paid attention when I read the synopsis. I know that sounds awful but it is honest. I actually went back to the synopsis and also went online to check it out and found a ton of information on this event. I am actually really glad I listened to this audiobook. I have learned about a huge event in UK history and was able to hold may own in a conversation with my history/war buff husband. It was nice for a change to have more info on something I didn't know anything about.

The author did a great job making this book easy to follow along and I didn't find it as a dry read. He has researched this event really well and was straight to the point without all the extra fluff.

I really enjoyed the narrator, Phillip J. Mather. Mather's did a great job, he has a very deep British voice. I think he would make a great narrator for mystery/crime novels. I look forward to more books from both this author and narrator.

I give this audiobook a 4 stars out of 5.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Note: This book was provided free of charge by the author in exchange for an honest review.]

It is intriguing when one reads a set of books by the same author what patterns can be determined [1]. So far, among the author’s works I am familiar with, all of which are fairly short and to the point, there have been two types of books: books about the military equipment of a given context, or books about military operations. Even those books about military operations, like this one about a 1980 siege of the Iranian Embassy in London by a revolutionary group supporting increased autonomy for the oil-producing Arab minority region of Iran known as Arabistan, spends a great deal of attention focusing on issues of the armament of the hostage-taking terrorists, the SAS forces who eventually mounted a successful rescue, and even one brave if unlucky policeman who managed to keep a pistol hidden on his body the entire time he was a hostage after having gone inside for a hot cup of coffee at the precise moment that the terrorists took over the Iranian embassy.

In terms of its contents, the book reads like a dramatic diary that was born to be made into a film. The events of the six-day siege are given in descriptive fashion, full of technical expertise and some use of jargon that demonstrates the familiarity of the author with the language of the civil and military bureaucracies that specialize in such matters. Intermixed with the story of the siege, which shows a pretty standard pattern of initial surprise, a great deal of pressure at the start, the gradual development of Stockholm Syndrome, where hostages began to identify with the terrorists, and then a period of increased pressure and strain as the lack of sleep and the atmosphere of threat wore on everyone involved, while rescue operations were simultaneously planned to be put into place if any of the hostages were killed. When one was killed, and confirmed dead, the fate of the terrorists was sealed, with five of the six being killed, one imprisoned, at the cost of a couple of wounded and one killed hostage among those who were left. Then there is the discussion of the aftermath and the debriefing, with various insert chapters throughout showing the political background of the terrorists as well as a very short operational history of the SAS, which gained a great deal of positive publicity as a result of the successful rescue mission.

Although this book is short, and seemingly destined for a treatment as a British historical drama film, there is a lot that can be gleaned from it. One of them is that equipment can have a great deal of influence on how a mission goes. The tangling up of the ropes held up the leader of the rescue mission, leading him to be injured by burns when the top floor windows were blasted open, and problems with the ropes for someone else on the rescue team led to a premature kicking open of windows that alerted the terrorists to the strike. Additionally, the book as a whole reveals the shocking lack of preparedness that the British have when it comes to dealing with violence, something that enemies of Great Britain are likely to exploit from time to time, as was the case here, at least temporarily. The book also demonstrates the essential difficulty of coordinating responses between decision makers who often do not have all the information, multiple layers of civil and military bureaucracy that do not always work in harmony, as well as the media whose inaccurate reports can exacerbate tensions within a hostage situation and also foreign actors who have their own agendas. Additionally, the importance of the clever actions of the hostages themselves can make a big difference in the outcome of a hostage situation, and this particular crisis had quite a lot of quick thinking and tactical brilliance among those held hostage, to the ultimate benefit in preserving their own lives and in helping to avert disaster. In a world full of doubt that individuals can make a difference, this book is a reminder that upon small individual decisions and a great deal of courage, people can make a difference in history, although usually only in the most stressful and unexpected of incidents.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

[Omkar Atre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and short description of the Iran embassy siege.

Liked the political background described initially.
Would have loved a bit more details on the SAS operation.
Some pictures in end never go waste :-)

[Jane Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iranian Embassy Attack

I found it difficult to follow. I had not heard of this incident before; I guess because we were concentrating on the attack of the American Embassy ayt this time.

[D A · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alternative telling of the iranian siege and well written

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 4 stars
Audiobook narrator Philip J. Mather rating: 4 stars

I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.

When first reading the description, I was thinking that this was similar to the movie Argo. This event happened after the events in Argo and was different. My first thought when reading this book (or listening to this book) was, “Where is Jack Bauer??”. Then my next thought was, “What the hell are these terrorists thinking??? Don’t they know their demands will not be met? Are they not familiar with democratic diplomatic policy towards terrorists?” I kept on hearing Jack Bauer’s voice in my head saying, “The United States does not negotiate with terrorists” (and, of course, insert “Great Britain” or “United Kingdom” in place of “The United States”).

I mean, let’s be serious here and try to think of all the possible outcomes from the terrorists’ point of view.
1) They get their way, new country established, prisoners released, and they live (get out free).
2) They become martyrs, kill all the hostages, die for their cause, and possibly start more trouble in the world.
3) They do not get their way, soften up to the hostages, act more like humans, and ultimately lose to the British SAS.
One of those options isn’t going to happen and I don’t have to tell you which one. Didn’t they know this???

I don’t think I would have believed the story in this book if it was not a true story. It just seems so unlikely that it ended the way it did with such a high success (from the good guys side). I see that there is a documentary on YouTube that I plan to watch sometime. This would make for a great movie too (Argo 2 perhaps…? No, needs a different title for sure).

I think that this book is a better book to read as opposed to listen to. I liked the narrator and thought he did a good job but there are just too many characters to keep track of and too many terms that I would need to consult the glossary/appendix on.

Altogether, this is a good short book and an even unlikelier story. Thanks for the free book, Philip!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not so much a novelization of Operation Nimrod that took place in late April and early May 1980 in London, England just days after the failed American attempt to rescue the hostages at the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran as it was a blow by blow account of police efforts to end the hostage situation at the Iranian embassy in London and the subsequent mission by the British SAS that finally did rescue the hostages there.

The book is well researched as nearly as I can tell, and I learned much from it. There are not really any characters to speak about. Many names are mentioned during the course of the book but none of them come across as characters like you would have in a novel. I see that there are other books by this author listed. I could be tempted to listen them. As good as this book was I would like to see what Russell Philips could do with a novel of intrigue.

Phillip J. Mather did not really give a performance so much as he just read the book. I felt like I was listening to grandfather reading me a story from a history book. He also has a very deep bass voice that I find hard to listen to. Hence my low rating for his "Performance."

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Shoshana Hathaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short book, but it gives a fairly in depth portrayal of what happened during these 6 days, and why it happened. The extreme drama is showcased by the low key objective writing style. The author has gathered, and presents documentation from various sources to excellent effect. He has, in fact, made that documentation an integral part of the story he is telling. This is more than another incident in the history of terrorism, because it shows the first time the British SAS became, essentially public figures, and in their success, viewed live around the world, popular heroes, as well.

Mr. Mather provided an adequate and professional narration. Though he used expression fairly well, and though his pronunciation was excellent, I was slightly put off by his narrating style for reasons I can’t quite pin down. However, that in no way distracted me from this book.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for this unbiased review via the courtesy of AudioBookBlast dot com.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who remembers this seige in 1980 its an interesting read. It gives an insight on the events that took place inside the embassy in the days leading up to the SAS storming the building and releasing the captives.

Some interesting points of its time when mobile phones were not around and peopel relied on the news and radio to communicate.

[Andrew Knighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear and well-written account of the Iranian embassy siege, that sets out the details of events without speculating or romanticising any element of what happened. It gets into the heart of a tense and fascinating incident through the actions of the people involved. As always, Phillips makes his chosen area of history accessible and interesting.

[Richard Myers]

Very interesting

A detailed account of the Iranian siege in England. I was not aware of all the backstory goings on before and during and after the siege.

[Drew Bader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read many accounts of this siege and assault. This is a very concise and thorough account of the events. Nice addition to my SAS library.