Operation Nimrod : A Hostage Rescue Mission Operated By The British Special Forces
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OPERATION NIMROD
Operation Nimrod was a counterterrorist hostage-rescue mission operated by the British Special Forces unit: Special Air Service (SAS) in London at Iranian Embassy on May 5th 1980. Operation Nimrod is considered to be as one of the best special operations. Examining the roles of British senior civilian and military decision makers during the operation will provide a better understanding of the topic of the thesis.
1. Political-Military Situation:/ Motives for the Attack
Khuzestan is an oil rich region in the southwestern Iran, which is highly populated with Arabs who are culturally ethnically different from the Persians. The inhabitants of the region also call it “Arabistan”. Khuzestan is the primary source of the Iran’s wealth and power because of its oil resources. The region is very important for Iran; Iran would be powerless country in the Middle East without Khuzestan’s oil.
Khuzestan was autonomous under Arab Sheiks, until the Shah suppressed their autonomy and put Persian rulers in the power. The Shah altered the status of the region to a province, changed the name from Arabistan to Khuzestan. The Khuzestanis rebelled several times to become self-ruled region.; the Shah severely repressed these uprisings. During the Islamic Revolution, Khuzestanis went on strike and stopped the oil flow from the region to help to topple the autocratic Shah regime. After the Islamic Revolution, the Khuzestanis expected to regain their self-rule, but new regime also