The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World

by Ben Macintyre

A thrilling tick-tock recounting one of the most harrowing hostage situations and daring rescue attempts of our time—from true-life espionage master and New York Times bestselling author of Operation Mincemeat and The Spy and the Traitor Ben Macintyre.

As the American hostage crisis in Iran boiled into its seventh month in the spring of 1980, six heavily armed gunman barged into the Iranian embassy in London, taking twenty-six hostages. What followed over the next six days was an increasingly tense standoff, one that threatened at any moment to spill into a bloodbath.

Policeman Trevor Lock was supposed to have gone to the theater that night. Instead, he found himself overpowered and whisked into the embassy. The terrorists never noticed the gun hidden in his jacket. The drama that ensued would force him to find reserves of courage he didn’t know he had. The gunmen themselves were hardly one-dimensional—all Arabs, some highly educated, who hoped to force Britain to take their side in their independence battle against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Behind the scenes lurked the brutal Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who had bankrolled the whole affair as a salvo against Iran.

As police negotiators pressed the gunmen, rival protestors clashed violently outside the embassy, and as MI6 and the CIA scrambled for intelligence, Britain’s special forces strike team, the SAS, laid plans for a dangerous rescue mission. Inside, Lock and his fellow hostages used all the cunning they possessed to outwit and outflank their captors. Finally, on the sixth day, after the terrorists executed the embassy press attaché and dumped his body on the front doorstep, the SAS raid began, sparking a deadly high-stakes climax.

A story of ordinary men and women under immense pressure, The Siege takes readers minute-by-thrilling-minute through an event that would echo across the next two decades and provide a direct historical link to the tragedy on 9/11. Drawing on exclusive interviews and a wealth of never-before-seen files, Macintyre brilliantly reconstructs a week in which every day minted a new hero and every second spelled the potential for doom.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook, True Crime, Espionage, Military Fiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2024

About the author

Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (U.K.) and the bestselling author of The Spy and the Traitor, A Spy Among Friends, Double Cross, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, and Rogue Heroes, among other books. Macintyre has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.

Reviews

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, sure, the book jacket may tell you that Ben Macintyre's The Siege is about the 1980 hostage crisis at the Iranian embassy in London. However, this is selling the story short. You see, I have read many of Macintyre's books, and I can say without hesitation that they are always about people. Events just happen to occur near those people. The Siege is no different.

For those who don't remember (like me because I wasn't alive yet, and I don't get to say that much anymore), terrorists took over the Iranian embassy in London which included 26 hostages. I won't get too detailed about the terrorists as their point of view is rather surprising. Macintyre takes his time as he slowly peels back the layers of the story around the hostages, terrorists, and the people trying to bring this crisis to a peaceful end. I can't stress enough how masterfully each person is revealed as a flesh and blood person regardless of which side they are on. Some people would prove themselves heroes and others villains.

Something else I have found in all of Macintyre's books is humor. I don't know how, but the author continues to find sly humor in the darkest of places. His last book, Prisoners of the Castle, was closer to Hogan's Heroes than anyone would have expected even though it is the true story of captured Allied POWs. The Siege isn't laugh-out-loud funny, but Macintyre lightens the mood whenever possible without cheapening the drama around the story.

It would not be a spoiler to say that the final act of this story is heavy on action. I appreciated the way it is handled in the book. Most chapters are about the same size except for the last one which covers everything that happens during the (to quote the subtitle) "special-forces operation that shocked the world." Instead of breaking up the story with needless cliffhangers, the narrative just takes off until everything goes quiet.

The book is simply fantastic, and you should read it.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Crown Publishing.)

[Melindam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how you write a gripping page-turner of a non-fiction (docu-drama) book, Ladies and Gentlemen!

The mention of the real Whalebone Lane in London close to the dwellings of a City Watch guardsman Police Officer was the cream on top!! The first ever I came across... What were the chances, huh? (One-to-million as Terry Pratchett would have said!)

**********

On 30 April, six gunmen seized the Iranian Embassy in London, taking 26 people—both Iranians and Brits—hostage. They demanded the British government’s intervention to secure the release of political prisoners in Iran, and support for the autonomy of Arabistan (Khuzestan) in southwest Iran. The group intended to hold the embassy for just 24 hours, believing this would be enough to draw international attention to their cause and secure safe passage to an Arab country afterwards. But, best-laid plans and all that ...

After 5 days of stalling and on and off negotiations on political and police levels what followed was a dramatic and iconic military operation: a live-broadcasted assault on the embassy by the SAS, the British Army’s elite special forces unit. The media coverage was as extensive as it was unwanted, but impossible to avoid.

While Coronation Street aired uninterrupted, the final moments of the World Snooker Championship (ironically named the Embassy Championship after its sponsor, a tobacco brand) were disrupted. More than 14 million viewers worldwide were watching as the siege unfolded live. Needless to say, the BBC faced criticism and complaints for the decision (for deciding in favour of hostage rescue vs snooker!)— the "good old days" when consuming media was on a different plane altogether.

Historian Ben Macintyre delivers not only a riveting procedural account of the siege but also offers insight into the political and personal histories of those involved: the “terrorists,” the hostages, the police, and the SAS operatives. He writes with insight, compassion and humour, combining the bizarre with the tragic . His ability to show the human side of every character —without excusing or moralizing—is one of the book’s strongest points.

Macintyre has the narrative in hand and builds it up nicely towards the climax: Operation Nimrod, the SAS rescue mission. Though it lasted a mere 11 minutes—“roughly the time it takes to cook a hard-boiled egg”—its execution is described in intense detail. The 11 minutes takes more than an hour on the audiobook. It is quite a challenge to narrate a complex, multi-floor military operation from multiple perspectives (hostages, gunmen, commandos), all happening simultaneously. Yet he pulled it off, keeping the tension high and the storytelling crisp.

Macintyre has this gift for turning meticulously researched history into stories that read like thrillers. This is my third book by him After Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory & Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal, and on consideration the one enjoyed the most.

He narrates the audiobook himself and does a great job.

Highly recommended.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

"[London's Metropolitan Police] did not know who was in the [Iranian] embassy. They knew only that armed men had entered, shots had been fired, and hostages were inside, including a policeman. One person had been injured jumping from a window and then dragged back inside by masked men. But these few sketchy details were enough to trigger one of the most dramatic anti-terrorism operations London has ever seen." -- on pages 29-30

Author Macintyre recounts the six-day hostage crisis and eventual rescue at the Iranian embassy in London during the first week of May 1980 with his stellar and thorough work The Siege. In a nutshell, six Arab terrorists (who were funded by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein) seized the five-floor, fifty-six room building - which was occupied by a mix of over two-dozen staffers, clerical employees, and visitors at the time - during the late morning hours of 30 April 1980. Although treated as a local incident at first - with various negotiators and tactical units from the London Metropolitan Police being initially tasked as the primary responding agency - it was quickly referred much higher up the food chain to federal government responsibility given the international repercussions. The new, no-nonsense U.K. prime minister Margaret Thatcher - then in only her second year at said post - shrewdly gave the go-ahead for military intervention, leading to the British Army's Strategic Air Service - a rugged special forces unit that had been continuously training / rehearsing in anti-terrorism operations since 1973 (in the aftermath of the Munich Olympic tragedy of 1972) - being called in to assume control of the scene. I found the author's detailing of the six long days and the involved personalities (the hostages, the police officers, the military men, and even the terrorist faction - there were likely 50+ persons to keep track of throughout the narrative) on both sides to be first-rate, and his minute-by-minute recreation of the suspenseful and climactic SAS raid was absolutely thrilling in a way that most dramatic fiction could only dream of achieving.

[Vanessa (semi-hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5--so good!

I'm going to start my review by sharing a piece from page 254. It was very funny and a dose of humor here and there in a history book about a terrorist attack is welcome:

But on active service in Northern Ireland, SAS soldiers carried plastic handcuffs attached to their flak jackets, in case a suspect needed to be restrained. Gullen asked the police liaison officer to provide a stock of these 'plasticuffs,' and a policeman duly appeared with a large cardboard box. "I don't know what you want these for," he muttered. Inside were two thousand plastic cups.

Macintyre recounts in his book the Iranian Embassy siege that happened in the United Kingdom (April 30-May 5 1980). Macintyre was watching the snooker when the match was interrupted to show live coverage of a special forces operation going in to the Iranian Embassy in London to rescue hostages and kill terrorists.

This book reads almost like a thriller novel. Macintyre knows how to keep an exciting pace while dispensing factual details and setting the scene for what is transpiring politically at the time. This attack took place while the United States was suffering a hostage crisis in Tehran. In that situation, 50 Americans were held hostage for 444 days. In this one, 26 (a police officer, embassy staff, and visitors) were held for six days by six Arab men, who were opposed to the Ayatollah's regime. They thought by carrying out their attack in Britain they would have their rights they felt should be restored to them and the Iranian prisoners in the new regime that they wanted released.

The six terrorists thought they would have this all sewed up in 24 hours. They did not want to kill anyone. They were naive, and gentle at first. As hours go into days, tensions understandably arise.

The SAS inserted listening devices in the building and planned their attack, named Operation Nimrod when you know what was hitting the fan.

Fans of John Le Carré will take interest in that this real-life event inspired his writing.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the 5th May 1980, I was at home watching the final of the Embassy World Snooker Championship on television. It was all coming to the boil when suddenly the coverage was interrupted by live news coverage of a group of heavily armed men bombing and shooting their way into the Iranian Embassy in London. Apparently, the legendary snooker commentator ‘Whispering’ Ted Lowe had famously said “…and now, from one Embassy to another”. But I don’t recall that. However, what was immediately clear was that the siege that had been taking place at the Iranian Embassy for the past six days was coming to an immediate and brutally violent end. The television live coverage of this event was the most dramatic thing I’d ever watched - and perhaps, with the possible exception of 911, still is.

This book delves into the fine detail of that event, from the initial raid of the building right through to it’s compelling conclusion. It also tracks what happened to the survivors beyond the event’s conclusion. I listened to an audio version of the book narrated by the author. In truth, the very fact of its detailed (very detailed) description of what happened both inside the building and outside – the kidnappers, their victims, the police, the SAS team and politicians – made the account feel somewhat laborious in my eyes. Fascinating as many of the characters are, nothing of any real substance really seems to have happened in the first five days of the siege. On day six, it all happened.

In coverage subsequent to 5th May (from what I can recall), I was led to believe that the heroic rescue of most of the captors was thanks to a brilliantly planned and flawlessly executed counter-terrorism operation. This account shows that though the outcome exceeded the expectations of even the most positive of those involved in the planning, the execution was anything but seamless. In fact, the whole thing was almost derailed from the very start and turned to virtual chaos soon after. I found the telling of the eleven minutes (that’s all it lasted) of the rescue to be totally, totally absorbing. I also really enjoyed the updates on all those who came out of the building alive and other key players, too.

So it’s a bit of a game of two halves, but I’d urge readers/listeners to stick with it as you’ll probably find, like me, that you become progressively invested in the fate of those inside the building – and not always in ways you’d expect.

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only familiar with the story of the Iranian Embassy Siege through grainy TV archive (it happened in the year I was I born, 1980), this is a fascinating retelling of events over the 6 days that gripped the country and the wider world. The heroic SAS rescue skews towards lucky and miraculous rather than expert, and the terrorists come across as pawns in a much wider geopolitical power game which they had no comprehension of. The real heroes are arguably the hostages who survived through their ordeal. Told with gripping tension and a masterclass in mixing dry, known fact with exciting, suspenseful writing.

[Mervyn Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I made the mistake of reading the first page of this even though I'm still only halfway through the George III book. A few hours later and I was finished. That's how good a read it is. The level of detail is astonishing. Macintyre even knows about the nibbled-off corner of shepherd's pie that was sent into the Embassy. It is astonishing to learn that the SAS weren't equipped with fire-retardant clothing or properly fitting gas masks. Even their pistol holsters had to have tape around them so they could carry their Brownings securely. Typical of Iran to be outraged by this embassy siege while in the middle of their own siege of the American Embassy in Tehran. But that's what fundamentalism breeds. Hypocrisy, self-righteousness and idiocy. What the SAS breed is the type of soldier who gets the job done. However, despite all the bravery, professionalism and skill, one simple fact remains. The terrorists who carried out the siege were not Isis-like maniacs. Had they been, many - if not all - of the hostages would've been killed. Together with a lot of SAS soldiers.

[Alan (The Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six Days on the Edge
A review of the Random House large-print paperback (September 10, 2024) released simultaneously with the hardcover/ebook/audiobook.

Just before 21:00, someone turned on a large television, and the men settled down to watch themselves for the first time. The news opened with a figure in black clambering across a balcony to plant explosives. At that moment someone with bouffant hair obscured the screen.
“Oi, fucking sit down at the front,” shouted John McAleese, who wanted a clear view of his moment of anonymous fame.
The person with big hair obediently ducked out of the way.
No one ever spoke to Mrs. Thatcher that way. But who dares, wins.

I was curious about Ben Macintyre's book about the 1980 Iranian Embassy in London crisis as I had actually read one of the very first books about it back in the day Siege : Six Days at the Iranian Embassy (1980) due to its blurb and Introduction by John Le Carré. That was apparently one of the fastest books ever published, coming only a few weeks after the actual event. I re-read and reviewed it recently as Black Ops in the Open.

Knowing the high quality of Macintyre's research and writing from some of his espionage histories such as A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal (2014) and The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War (2018), I expected another tour-de-force and was not disappointed. Of course Macintyre had access to a huge amount of material that was unknown to the Observer reporters back in 1980, most especially the inside story from many of the SAS squadron members who were now able to speak freely about the events 44 years after the fact.

There was also the inside story from the point of view of many of the 26 hostages and their observations of how police negotiation tactics wore down the morale of the hostage takers. There were the further revelations about how the six gunmen had been recruited by Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Intelligence service and trained by Hussein's then protected terrorist Abu Nidal. All of it being an advance cold-war strike against Hussein's enemy the new Iranian government of Khomeini, which later erupted into the Iraq-Iran War (1980-88). Those six were pawns in the game, thinking they could do anything to relieve the situation for Arab-Iranians under the brutal Khomeini regime.

The youngest and most innocent of the gunmen survived the SAS assault, likely by being protected by the hostages who had grown sympathetic to him through the process of so-called Stockholm Syndrome. That survivor served 28 years of a life sentence before being paroled and now lives under a protected identity in the UK, while subject to a death sentence if ever returned to Iran.

It all makes for a fascinating inside story which reads like the best of fiction due to Macintyre's dramatic writing skills. I read the large-print version which was more easily accessible in the Toronto library when there were more holds on the regular print size.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this detailed book about the Iranian embassy siege in 1980

[Mike (HistoryBuff) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though the outcome is known, this is a fast paced thriller of history. I’m sure there are plenty of fiction books that are edge of your seat, page turners but they don’t compare, to me, when it is nonfiction and the author weaves a narration that keeps you hooked. Ben Macintyre, once again, does a superb job of keeping the reader engaged. He gives you insight into each of the hostages as well as the terrorists, but not in a way that takes away the essence of the events of those six fateful days. Highly recommended and looking forward to reading The Spy and The Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War.

[Steven Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If one thinks about events that took place in 1980 two hostage situations should come to mind. The first and more prominent was the seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran by Islamic radicals imprisoning 52 Americans for over a year. The second took place in London months later as Iranian Arabists seized the Iranian embassy and took 26 hostages for six days until they were freed. The first event in Tehran took place following the overthrow of the Pahlavi Dynasty as part of the Islamic Revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power who instituted an extreme Islamic regime. The hostage crisis was very impactful for the 1980 Presidential election as President Jimmy Carter’s failure to bring home the hostages, despite a valiant rescue attempt that failed, contributed greatly to his defeat by Ronald Reagan. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, the lesser known hostage situation was evolving as six heavily armed gunmen stormed the Iranian Embassy as a means of gaining support against the new Iranian government who were persecuting the Iranian Arab ethnic minority in Khuzestan, Iran.

Both crises produced rescue missions, the first by the United States, Operation Eagle Claw approved by President Carter failed as technical difficulties resulted in a disaster in the Iranian desert. The second was conducted by British Special Forces (SAS) and was deemed successful. Many accounts of the American hostage crisis and failed rescue mission have been written, but until now the accounts of events in London have remained largely negligible. The narrative description, analysis, and character studies associated with the London crisis has been filled by Ben Macintyre’s latest effort; THE SIEGE: A SIX DAY HOSTAGE CRISIS AND THE DARING SPECIAL FORCES OPERATION THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD.

Macintyre’s new book is his latest success after having written more than a dozen acclaimed books about war and espionage, including volumes on British Spy Kim Philby, the Nazi POW camp Colditz, the preparations for D-Day, and an account describing how Oleg Gordievsky the Russian spy helped bring the Cold War to a conclusion. As is the case with all of his books, Macintyre latest is highlighted by a taut and engrossing story that is deeply researched that will draw in the reader’s attention as it seems to flow like a novel, but in reality is a work of historical non-fiction. For Macintyre, the key to the narrative is that “no one knows how they will respond to lethal jeopardy, until they have to.”

Macintyre comes to a number of important conclusions as he develops his monograph. He sees the crisis as a turning point in the relationship between breaking news and the viewing public as he describes how media outlets responded to the hostage situation. Second he argues that this was a pivotal moment in the public history of Britain’s secretive SAS (Special Air Service). Lastly, it was an early test for the new government of Margaret Thatcher, whose response to the crisis would reaffirm her reputation as the “Iron Lady.”

The seizure of the embassy stemmed from the treatment of the Arab minority in Iran under the reign of the Shah as well as the Khomeini government. Originally when the Islamic Republic was founded it promised to recognize Arabistan’s autonomy and the rights of its people. Almost immediately it changed its approach and clamped down on its Arab population just as the Shah had as oil rich Khuzestan drove policy. Further complicating the situation was the role of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein who saw an opportunity to exacerbate relations with the new Iranian regime and take advantage of the situation as he saw Iran’s aggressive new theocracy as a threat to his power and ambitions. Khuzestan was an easy and cheap way to undermine the Khomeini regime and destabilize Iran.

Macintyre clearly explains the demands of the hostage takers – their motivations, and how their actions had major implications for the Middle East. When Republican Guards engaged in violence and death against Arab demonstrators it spurred on a small group led by Towfiq Ibrahim al-Rashidi, also referred to as Salim whose brother was tortured and executed by Republican Guards.
Throughout the narrative Macintyre integrates the ongoing American crisis in Tehran stressing the Thatcher government’s concerns after the American rescue attempt to free its hostages was a failure – she would refuse to provide victory for the Khomeini regime at any cost. There was no way she would allow the terrorists to walk free. Macintyre also stresses the mindset of the hostages. Their fears are paramount, but the author also describes how Stockholm and Lima syndrome emerge amongst the hostages as some developed a certain empathy for the terrorist’s themselves. The strategies pursued by government negotiators is on full display as is SAS planning for any eventuality during the crisis.

Interestingly Towfiq and his cohorts were not trained terrorists as improvisation best describes their behavior as their strategy did not play out as they had hoped. Their behavior during the crisis was not consistent, particularly Towfiq who was hard to read. Sometimes calm, but at the next “moment polite and apologetic, then suddenly aggressive; in one breadth threatening to kill many innocent people, and in the next describing himself as a benevolent humanitarian.”

There are many important characters that emerge throughout. Obviously Towfiq and his accomplices, but others stand out. John Albert Dillon, the chief troubleshooter for Scotland Yard; Fred Luff the main government negotiator; Chris Cramer, a BBC producer, Simeon Harris, a BBC sound engineer, and Major Hector Gullen; the Commander of B Squadron – the standing counter-terrorist force; Professor Peter Gunn, a psychiatrist at Maudsley Psychiatric Hospital and a leading authority on the terrorist mind; and a number of other government officials and personalities. Among the hostage’s Syrian journalist Mustapha Karkouti stands out as does Seyyed Abbas Lauasani, the Republican Guard spy who served in the embassy; Dr. Gholam-Ali Afrouz, the Iranian ambassador to Britain; Roya Kaghachi , the secretary to the ambassador; Trevor James Lock, the police constable who guarded the embassy; and Ron Morris, the embassy majordomo. Macintyre provides brief biographical sketches of all the main participants and the reader acquires intimate knowledge of their backgrounds which impact their behavior during the crisis.

In his Washington Post review Charles Arrowsmith points out that “Macintyre’s many sources include the diaries of hostages as well as interviews he conducted with SAS officers who participated in the event — the first such interviews to be sanctioned by the British Defense Ministry. He consulted other living witnesses, including Trevor Lock, the police officer who was guarding the embassy, and Maj. Hector Gullan, who coordinated the SAS raid. Fowzi Badavi Nejad, the only terrorist not killed in the raid, is alive, too — he’s still in Britain, released from prison in 2008 and living under an assumed name — though it’s not clear if he spoke to Macintyre. Regardless, the final product of Macintyre’s research is a remarkably immersive account of what happened.

THE SIEGE is brilliantly assembled. Despite the historic import of its events, it’s the humdrum details that linger: an order of 25 hamburgers for those trapped inside the embassy; armed SAS officers gathered around a TV to watch the snooker; a captive engrossed in Frederick Forsyth’s espionage classic “The Day of the Jackal.” For policeman Trevor Lock, it’s the scent of Old Spice, a bottle of which the terrorists found during their time in the embassy, that takes him right back to the scene. It contains the faint but ineradicable trace of an event whose significance persists for both him and the world, even as its particulars have faded. Macintyre’s superb reconstruction restores it to vivid, complex life.”**

**Charles Arrowsmith, “Ben Macintyre’s THE SIEGE vividly recounts a hostage crisis,” Washington Post, September 20, 2024.

[Jibraun · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my fifth Ben Macintyre book. Macintyre is known for penning narrative nonfiction stories primarily about WW2, his most famous probably being about Kim Philby. This is his first book I have read that goes afield of WW2, focusing on the Iraqi funded terrorist takeover of the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980. I never had heard of this specific hostage takeover having happened before I was born but not historic enough to be taught in school; I, therefore, found the background motivation of the terrorists to be educational and interesting. Unfortunately, this is just one of those books, in which there is not enough there to merit a whole book. The hostage situation took place over six days, mostly with nothing happening in those six days. So, Macintyre fills the pages with repetitious dialogue by the terrorists and police, interspersing the narrative with tangents about the SAS, Northern Ireland, etc. While Macintyre still maintains his stylistic prose, the book just left me bored for long portions, not being interested in Salim or whomever crying about Arabistan for the 50th time. I also found the climax, the SAS storming the embassy, to be a letdown. The action was so confusing that not even Macintyre could make it sensible in narrative form, leaving me confused as to what actually happened. I’d recommend skipping this one and reading Agent Sonya or The Spy and the Traitor. 2.5 stars.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear, readable and suspenseful work.

The narrative is perceptive, and Macintyre does a great job portraying the hostages and their experiences, the role of the new Thatcher government, and the experiences of the police officers and SAS troopers on scene. (Even Prince Andrew shows up in the story to make himself part of the action and get the cameras on him, perhaps unsurprisingly).

Macintyre also provides a vivid portrait of the terrorists, and you get the impression that they were confused, in over their heads, and didn’t know what they were doing or what they were going to do next. The Iraqi intelligence officers who had backed them seemed to have deceived them, as did their boss Abu Nidal. The Iraqis assured the hostage-takers that British governments could always be relied on to give in to the demands of terrorists, that Western press freedoms would aid their search for attention, and that unarmed British police officers wouldn’t pose the slightest problem. (They also advised the terrorists not to shoot anyone, lest it ruin publicity for their cause) Macintyre notes that the terrorists even went on a shopping spree before embarking on their mission. They apparently overlooked the fact that the British government lacked the power to give them what they wanted.

The Iranian regime, of course, accused the terrorists of being in league with the Americans, and scoffed at their threats, apparently satisfied with the fact that their embassy staffers were getting a chance at martyrdom (their foreign minister said as much, and he would later be tortured and executed by his own regime in the end). Macintyre notes that spokesmen for the Iranian regime condemned the hostage takers at their embassy, while rejecting any parallel with their own taking of American hostages in Iran. They even accused the CIA of collaborating with Iraq to attack the London embassy,and even threatened to kill Arab insurgents held in Iranian prisons if any Iranian hostages were harmed. When an embassy official was killed, they congratulated him and boasted that they didn’t mourn his death. The terrorists demanded the release of Arab political prisoners held in Iran; Macintyre notes that most of these prisoners were actually executed by the new regime over the course of the siege. Some of them even signed a statement stating they didn't want to be released, though, undoubtedly this was done under torture or fabricated by the regime.

The portrait of the SAS troopers is also pretty colorful. This was the first real-life hostage rescue the SAS ever conducted. Macintyre also notes that few people had heard of the SAS before this operation made the news. He also describes how the embassy’s security had been upgraded before the siege after consultations with the SAS. Macintyre also notes that this was the first breaking news event to be broadcast live on every British TV channel. Some British viewers, however, were annoyed because it interrupted the bank holiday and the world snooker final; some were irritated enough to compose angry letters to the news stations. Macintyre also notes the massive amount of books on this event that were published before his. This also originated with the press: a few British newspapers soon published books on the siege (with identical titles and covers), with the earliest coming eighteen days after the siege ended (“the fastest books ever published in the UK”) The commander of 22 SAS would call the publicity from the embassy siege “the worst thing that ever happened to the SAS.”

There’s only a few quibbles: at one point Macintyre writes of SAS troopers having two spare rounds of pistol ammunition (he must mean magazines), or the use of “nerve gas” (tear gas?), or 9mm “revolvers.” MP5s are also called “machine guns.” There’s also the occasional Britishism to amuse the American reader: “Now straight-batting Dellow had been bowled a tricky political googly,” etc. Though I didn’t honestly mind these, haha.

A straightforward, nuanced and dynamic work.

[Stephen Curran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Very detailed, worth a read

[Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an event that didn't exist in my memory. I didn't know how it ended and the suspense was maddening. After the siege began there was chaos inside the London embassy of Iran. Ben Macintyre gives just the right amount of background information necessary to understand the motives of the six terrorists holding multiple hostages. The heavily armed gunmen are young, amateurish and dangerous. During the six day siege relationships developed among those effectively imprisoned together, despite cultural and language differences. Daily interactions sometimes appeared to be harmonious but terror was always lurking beneath the surface. In these pages an unforgettable story and some truths about human nature seem to come alive.

[Debby Binns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember so clearly the SAS’s storming of the Iranian embassy in London that suddenly interrupted the BBC’s coverage of the snooker. I wasn’t watching the snooker at the time, but even the radio channels urged us to turn on the TV and watch something spectacular happening at the Embassy.

For me, this book is Ben Macintyre at his best! It reads like a taut thriller from beginning to end. Its full of rich details and backstories. I don’t think I’m giving any spoilers away when I say that the final chapters of this story are heavy on action. I really appreciated the way it was handled in the book, it absolutely kept me absorbed and unable to put the book down until it was finished.

[John R · Rating 2 out of 5]

Macintyre is one of my favorite authors. Spy and the Traitor and Operation Mincemeat are absolutely brilliant books.

But The Siege is equally dreadful. The subject matter begins oddly small and becomes no more relevant. The story is linear, outrageously ploddingly linear. Save for his usual exquisite writing and gems of fun facts throughout - Fiji one of countries to volunteer to become a British colony! - this book is a waste of time, especially for an author who is otherwise so talented and accomplished. What a pity.

[Deity World · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unfortunately even though the siege was ended 9/11 still happened I knew Husain was behind all this. A very fascinating read for those who enjoy true crime history

[Bertie · Rating 5 out of 5]

AUDIO - riveting listen!

[Dee Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible Credit 14 hours 27 min. Narrated by Ben Macintyre (C)
3.5 stars

This is story of the siege of the Iranian Embassy in May, 1980 by Iranian dissonates in London, England which has been long overshadowed by the seige of the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran over a much longed period. This was the first time London police and the government under Prime Margaret Thatcher had ever experienced this kind of event. This six day siege is meticulously documented by the author, and, imo, nitpickingly so. The book did build in intensity as it dealt into the relationships that formed between the terrorists and the hostages as each day became more unstable. It certainly left me with a high regard for PC Locke, who unexpectedly became a hero, much to his chagrin.

This book is another example of how an author may not be the best reader of his own story. Macintyre's English accent made it difficult to understand the many Arabic names.

[Michael Mohorovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multiple times during this book, Ben MacIntrye made me feel like I was there, in the Iranian Embassy in 1980, surrounded by gunmen and hostages during one of the biggest news stories in British modern history. This is such an incredible story, and really sheds light on the heroes of the attack, and it doesn’t shy away from sharing the stories of the troubled men who were convinced to plan and execute an attack that was never, ever going to succeed. Highly recommend.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Who dares wins" says the SAS. Ben Macintyre dares to tackle, with verve and detail, a contemporary half-classified tale of derring-do that many people saw live on TV. And he wins. Not many authors would.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never read a book yet by Ben MacIntyre that hasn’t thrilled, moved or surprised me; in fact he usually manages all three with ease. The Siege tells the story of the Iranian Embassy siege of May 1980, an event that drew worldwide attention and which - amazingly, it seemed at the time - was brought to a dramatic, fiery end live on television on a bank holiday Monday evening. MacIntyre is a consummate master at transforming vast amounts of information, large casts of characters and fast-moving events into compelling, edge of the seat narratives. That’s a great skill in a writer, but it is matched by his eye for the telling detail and individual human experience, which is what makes this latest book such a fascinating and immersive read. Hostages, terrorists, police, special forces and others are all brought to vivid life and the reader gets to know each of the dramatis personae in intimate detail - as the seven day siege progresses. The Siege is a masterclass in popular documentary history.

[Cindy Burnett (Thoughts from a Page) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[piet van genderen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ademloos uitgelezen. Knap opgebouwde verslaglegging, met vele paralleltrajecten, over een relatief onbekende politieke gijzelingsactie in Londen in 1980.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 2024 book recounts the Iranian embassy occupation, in London, by an obscure, Middle Eastern ethnic group, including some who were well educated, heavily armed, and apparently directed by an Iraqi government intelligence organization, occurs concurrently with the hostage crisis of American diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran.

This narrative focuses on individual people along with an examination of their abilities to function in the context of extreme stress. The author refers, occasionally, to the ongoing, televised, 1980 World Snooker Championship.

The Author provides the reader information enabling improved understanding of the danger to all parties involved when the decision to use military force, in the context of domestic deployment, is authorized.

[Robert Sheard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those gaps in my historical knowledge I didn’t know I had. I was in college during the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London, but like many Americans at the time, my attention was fixed on the far more widely reported hostage crisis in Tehran.

Ben Macintyre tells the story of a six-day standoff in London, where a group of armed Arab nationalists took hostages inside the embassy and brought the conflict in Khuzestan (aka Arabistan) to international attention. The SAS raid that ended the siege is now the stuff of legend in British military history.

Macintyre’s writing is reliably clear and well-researched, but this one didn’t grab me the way some of his other books have. Still, I’m glad I read it. It filled in a part of recent history I’d somehow missed.

[Nolan Stout · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are parts where this book is absolutely phenomenal. The problem is there was a whole lot of this siege where nothing really happened. Because of that, the author is way too detailed about the most minuscule and unnecessary things. The book just comes to an absolute grounding halt at those points.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I vaguely remember the events of the Iranian embassy siege in London in 1980, but as a teenager my mind was probably on exams and other things. I certainly wasn’t aware of the demands of the terrorists, the political issues at play or the fate of those inside the embassy, and so this book was a welcome addition to my understanding of the events of those 6 days.

Ben Macintyre has written a gripping account that shows that sensationalist writing and emotive speculation aren’t necessary to create compelling non fiction. Using interviews and accounts, he counts down the siege day by day, then minute by minute as the SAS operation unfolds. The reader gets to know the hostages and their captors, as well as the police and politicians working to negotiate an end to the siege, through their own words and actions.

There is a certain amount of analysis of the political situation that gave rise to the terrorism of the 70s and 80s, along with some historical context that recreates the spirit of 1980 (I particularly enjoyed the reminder of how massive the Snooker World Championship was in the culture of the time). Mostly however this is a story of human beings trapped in a tense and dangerous situation and how they reacted to it. It was informative and interesting, and I enjoyed it very much.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Macintyre 's latest book and as always a griping read.

On the last day of April in 1980, 6 young man entered the Iranian embassy in London and took over the building and took 26 people hostage. The gunmen were demanding sovereignty for Khuzestan, the release of 9 prisoners in that Iranian province and safe passage out of the United Kingdom.

Macintyre tells a riveting story but also gives an extensive history of the SAS, a special branch of the army trained for such situations. The operation brought the SAS to the public eye for the first time and the take-back of the Embassy was broadcast live, on a bank holiday, resulting in the entire country watching it unfold.

A great read and recommend for all who love history, suspense and great story telling.