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Operation Nimrod was a spectacular counter-terrorist raid conducted by the Special Air Service at the Iranian Embassy in London.
A six-man terrorist team, sponsored by Iraq, captured the building in mid-London on 30 April, 1980.
Initially it emerged they wanted autonomy for an oil-rich region in southern Iran known as Khuzestan, later they demanded the release of 91 of their comrades held in Ayatollah Khomeini's gaols. Only after the incident was over, did it emerge that Iraq had trained and armed the gunmen to embarrass Iran, and it would become a prelude to the Iran-Iraq war.
Initially twenty-six hostages were taken, but five were released over the following few days.
The terrorists killed two hostages and threw the bodies outside. This prompted the political decision to go ahead with the operation.
The reclusive Special Air Service found itself conducting a sharp, violent attack under the glare of the world's television cameras. One terrorist was captured, five were killed while the remaining hostages were rescued in a textbook operation that featured black-hooded raiders entering from both the top and front of the building.
There was some controversy over the killing of a few of the gunmen, especially Shai and Makki. They were guarding the Iranian hostages, and towards the end of the raid the hostages persuaded the gunmen to surrender. Hostages witnessed them throw down their weapons and sit on the floor with their hands on their heads (weapons being thrown out of a window and a white flag where seen by video cameras outside).
Dadgar, a hostage at the time (confirmed by two other hostages) said (of the SAS), "They then took the two terrorists, pushed them against the wall and shot them. They wanted to finish their story. That was their job." He said that they might have "had something in their pockets but certainly had no weapons in their hands at the time".
However, at a coroner's inquest the SAS were cleared by a Jury. One of the SAS soldiers said that he thought Makki was going for a gun, and another said he thought Shai had a grenade and shot him in the back of the neck.
Margaret Thatcher and her husband Denis paid a visit to the SAS at Regents Park barracks, after the incident to thank them. Dennis was observed to be quite upset at the survival of one of the terrorists and is quoted as saying, "You let one of the bastards live."
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