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In the world of spies, A cover story
and an alias must be watertight.
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00:00:16,383 --> 00:00:18,809
This requires more than
just convincing paperwork.
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00:00:20,146 --> 00:00:22,062
It's how you look, what you say,
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00:00:23,399 --> 00:00:29,069
The way you act, And it means staying
in character no matter what.
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00:00:32,825 --> 00:00:37,402
This is the remarkable story Of how one
man used inspiration from hollywood
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00:00:37,413 --> 00:00:43,167
To school six frightened diplomats
In the art of being someone else,
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00:00:43,243 --> 00:00:49,048
And score a victory for the cia, In one of the
darkest moments for american foreign policy.
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Iran was in the grip
of an islamic revolution.
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00:01:59,153 --> 00:02:03,831
Led by the shia cleric ayatollah khomeini,
Anti-american demonstrators had taken
10
00:02:03,907 --> 00:02:06,166
To the streets in
their thousands.
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00:02:14,260 --> 00:02:19,805
Amid the chaos cia officer, tony mendez,
Entered tehran on a covert mission.
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00:02:22,926 --> 00:02:29,064
To rescue a group of six american
diplomats From almost certain death.
13
00:02:36,940 --> 00:02:37,906
Among the group
14
00:02:39,285 --> 00:02:42,369
Were u.S. Embassy officials
mark and cora lijek.
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00:02:46,950 --> 00:02:52,504
Four decades on, The lijeks lead quiet lives
In a quiet corner of washington state.
16
00:02:53,957 --> 00:02:59,845
But back in the summer of 1979, This young
married couple were looking for adventure.
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I had completed my four years in the army
And went to work for the foreign service.
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00:03:06,553 --> 00:03:09,554
I was asked to volunteer
to go to tehran.
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00:03:09,565 --> 00:03:13,141
I agreed to help reopen
the tourist visa unit.
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00:03:13,152 --> 00:03:14,893
I actually was very
excited about it.
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00:03:14,904 --> 00:03:19,448
My parents had lived there for four
years, And I'd visited twice before.
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00:03:20,409 --> 00:03:23,327
Tehran was very cosmopolitan.
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00:03:23,403 --> 00:03:26,321
Most of the women I saw were
dressed in western clothing,
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00:03:26,332 --> 00:03:28,999
So it seemed like it'd
be a fun place to go.
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00:03:30,327 --> 00:03:33,337
But the lijeks touched down
To an iran in turmoil.
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00:03:39,511 --> 00:03:43,764
Well, I arrived after
a very long and arduous flight.
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The airport was chaotic.
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00:03:46,101 --> 00:03:49,436
Things were unstable and
people were not calm.
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00:03:51,523 --> 00:03:56,351
I was met by somebody from the embassy, So
that kind of got me past the worst of it.
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00:03:56,362 --> 00:04:04,117
But then we got in the van, And I noticed that the
driver Just drove through all the red lights.
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00:04:04,194 --> 00:04:07,704
Washington d.C. Had no idea What
was actually happening in tehran.
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00:04:09,124 --> 00:04:14,869
In January 1979, U.S. Ally
shah mohammed reza pahlavi
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00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,839
Had been ousted from power
by the ayatollah khomeini.
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00:04:21,053 --> 00:04:26,047
The white house was now friendless in
the region, And completely in the dark
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00:04:26,058 --> 00:04:27,975
About the actions
of the new regime.
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00:04:29,803 --> 00:04:35,315
U.S. President jimmy carter and the cia Had
been slow to react to the escalating crisis.
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00:04:38,487 --> 00:04:41,813
The cia station in tehran
At the time was minuscule,
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00:04:41,824 --> 00:04:46,743
With just one person basically
keeping the store open
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00:04:47,329 --> 00:04:49,654
Bill daugherty
arrived at the american embassy
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00:04:49,665 --> 00:04:53,917
In tehran in the immediate
aftermath of the shah's ousting.
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00:04:53,994 --> 00:04:57,838
He was fresh out of cia training
And thrown in at the deep end.
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00:04:59,833 --> 00:05:02,834
It was my first
overseas assignment.
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00:05:02,845 --> 00:05:05,595
I didn't know anything
about the country.
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00:05:05,672 --> 00:05:07,514
I didn't speak the language.
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00:05:07,591 --> 00:05:09,182
I didn't know anything
about their culture.
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00:05:09,259 --> 00:05:11,351
I knew nothing about islam.
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00:05:12,938 --> 00:05:17,983
Bill daugherty's mission was to buildup A cia
station that was operating with a skeleton crew.
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00:05:20,112 --> 00:05:24,114
He faced an uphill struggle To cultivate
potential agents and informants.
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00:05:26,526 --> 00:05:32,331
For an iranian to be seen with an american
Was not particularly appropriate.
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00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:37,210
That individual could go back And be
called a spy and could lose his job
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00:05:37,287 --> 00:05:43,717
Or even be arrested or worse Just for being
with an american government official.
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00:05:45,304 --> 00:05:49,014
The real concern I had
was not making a mistake
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00:05:50,634 --> 00:05:52,225
And getting caught.
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00:05:52,302 --> 00:05:57,230
There could have been enormous consequences
For being caught doing espionage work.
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00:06:04,815 --> 00:06:09,242
The american embassy in tehran Was a
maze of buildings in a vast walled
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00:06:09,319 --> 00:06:11,244
Compound in the
heart of the city.
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00:06:13,082 --> 00:06:16,917
On the second floor of the main
building Was the cia station.
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00:06:17,836 --> 00:06:23,581
I was in my office writing cables
From what I'd done the night before.
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00:06:23,592 --> 00:06:26,343
The demonstration was outside,
And it was larger than usual.
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00:06:28,514 --> 00:06:30,514
But I was ignoring it.
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00:06:32,509 --> 00:06:34,768
I was told by people
who had been there,
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00:06:35,679 --> 00:06:37,095
"don't worry about
the demonstrations.
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00:06:37,106 --> 00:06:40,107
"they happen all the
time," and so I didn't.
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00:06:45,856 --> 00:06:49,116
That morning no one
inside the american embassy
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00:06:49,192 --> 00:06:52,944
Noticed the demonstration
outside was near boiling point.
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00:06:56,291 --> 00:06:58,875
Hundreds of students were heading
Towards the embassy building.
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00:07:04,458 --> 00:07:06,508
These seemed to be young people.
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00:07:07,711 --> 00:07:09,136
We didn't see any weapons.
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00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:16,726
There was concern, But the embassy
was supposed to be a fortress.
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00:07:17,888 --> 00:07:22,149
On the other side of the embassy compound,
Mark and cora lijek were oblivious
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00:07:22,225 --> 00:07:24,225
To the imminent danger.
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00:07:37,416 --> 00:07:40,575
We both were
working in the visa section.
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00:07:40,586 --> 00:07:41,910
Yeah, okay.
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00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,547
Our building was not near the front,
So maybe we didn't hear some of it.
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00:07:46,500 --> 00:07:47,749
We couldn't see
what was going on.
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00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:49,676
We were quite a distance away.
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00:07:53,006 --> 00:07:57,893
But by now the students had begun To
scale the embassy main gate and walls.
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00:07:59,354 --> 00:08:02,597
To avoid a bloodbath, Washington
ordered the u.S. Marines
79
00:08:02,608 --> 00:08:05,275
Guarding the compound
to hold their fire.
80
00:08:06,945 --> 00:08:11,448
We had been told time and time again
That the embassy was a secure facility.
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00:08:11,525 --> 00:08:16,620
Even if the iranians came over the
wall And tried to attack the embassy,
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00:08:16,696 --> 00:08:19,113
It was virtually impregnable.
83
00:08:19,124 --> 00:08:22,042
I think it took them about
30 minutes to break into it.
84
00:08:23,962 --> 00:08:28,507
The chief of station then told
me to destroy the documents
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00:08:28,959 --> 00:08:32,794
That were in the
vault in my office.
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00:08:34,139 --> 00:08:37,715
By 10.30 a.M., As daugherty
began to shred anything
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00:08:37,726 --> 00:08:42,804
That could expose the nature of his work for
the cia, A group of angry students broke
88
00:08:42,814 --> 00:08:44,731
Into the main embassy building.
89
00:08:48,728 --> 00:08:53,240
They seized everyone they could find
To be paraded before the baying mob.
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00:08:55,494 --> 00:08:58,995
The iranian hostage
crisis had begun.
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00:09:03,410 --> 00:09:07,045
They came in and they started
Blind folding and tying hands.
92
00:09:08,832 --> 00:09:13,051
One of the first ones that they took away
Was one of the marine security guards,
93
00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:17,589
And I'll never forget the look on his
face Because he didn't wanna surrender.
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00:09:17,599 --> 00:09:19,173
He wanted to fight.
95
00:09:22,354 --> 00:09:26,606
Somebody claimed they smelt smoke, And that
they were gonna burn the building down.
96
00:09:31,196 --> 00:09:33,947
People started saying they
heard footsteps on the roof.
97
00:09:35,701 --> 00:09:40,528
The visa office was one of the few buildings In
the compound with its own exit to the street.
98
00:09:40,539 --> 00:09:44,032
It was kind of a decision point.
99
00:09:44,042 --> 00:09:45,116
We should leave the building.
100
00:09:45,127 --> 00:09:46,876
Everybody, come on let's go.
101
00:09:46,953 --> 00:09:50,130
In all, 13 embassy
workers made a break for it.
102
00:09:51,791 --> 00:09:54,542
But, in the confusion they
were forced to split up.
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We were all supposed to go left.
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00:09:58,140 --> 00:09:59,973
Nobody was supposed to go right.
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00:10:02,135 --> 00:10:06,896
Those who turned right Fell into the hands
of the iranian revolutionary guards.
106
00:10:08,233 --> 00:10:09,390
We went the other way.
107
00:10:09,401 --> 00:10:10,567
We went left.
108
00:10:10,644 --> 00:10:13,820
We went toward the british, Which
was what we were supposed to do.
109
00:10:15,657 --> 00:10:19,075
The safety of the british embassy
Was just over a mile away.
110
00:10:20,495 --> 00:10:24,664
But the lijek's escape route Was
blocked by angry demonstrators.
111
00:10:26,743 --> 00:10:29,085
The situation was
descending into chaos.
112
00:10:29,162 --> 00:10:31,338
They were now attacking
other embassies.
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00:10:31,414 --> 00:10:35,091
It was clear that this thing
was getting pretty nasty.
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00:10:36,762 --> 00:10:41,431
Alone on the streets of a hostile
city And with no specialist training,
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00:10:41,508 --> 00:10:44,851
The fugitive diplomats faced
capture and even death.
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00:10:46,521 --> 00:10:49,314
Help would come from the
most unlikely of sources.
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00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:56,780
In November 1979, In the wake of the
fall of the u.S. Embassy in tehran,
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00:10:56,856 --> 00:11:00,867
53 americans had been taken hostage
By islamic revolutionaries.
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00:11:01,778 --> 00:11:04,704
The ayatollah refused to
negotiate with president carter,
120
00:11:05,624 --> 00:11:11,586
And he ordered his men to interrogate All the
american prisoners to root out cia spies.
121
00:11:13,707 --> 00:11:16,207
Here was not an embassy.
122
00:11:16,218 --> 00:11:17,801
It was a cia center.
123
00:11:18,795 --> 00:11:25,141
This was a den of espionage Where they
were plotting against the iranian people.
124
00:11:27,145 --> 00:11:33,149
Cia officer bill daugherty Was now one
of the hostages in the american embassy.
125
00:11:35,562 --> 00:11:40,115
I was taken back to my office
Still blind folded, still tied.
126
00:11:46,573 --> 00:11:53,494
I could hear them breaking into safes All up and
down the corridor, Basically looting the embassy.
127
00:12:04,015 --> 00:12:07,225
There was a, not a student, But
a professional interrogator.
128
00:12:09,095 --> 00:12:15,433
Convinced of a cia plot to crush the revolution,
The ayatollah had sent in his top interrogator
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00:12:15,444 --> 00:12:17,485
To break the will
of the americans.
130
00:12:21,199 --> 00:12:28,621
My strategy was what had been Thoroughly
indoctrinated into me during my training.
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00:12:28,698 --> 00:12:34,786
I had a cover story to explain why I was
in iran And what my job in the embassy was
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00:12:34,796 --> 00:12:37,288
As a political military
affairs officer.
133
00:12:37,299 --> 00:12:38,381
Most of it was true.
134
00:12:38,458 --> 00:12:39,966
I didn't have to embellish it.
135
00:12:43,138 --> 00:12:50,059
We would start after dinner, And we
would go till sunrise, so 12, 13 hours,
136
00:12:50,645 --> 00:12:55,023
And they worked very hard
to break down my story.
137
00:12:57,143 --> 00:13:02,313
On the streets of tehran, U.S. Consular
officials mark and cora lijek,
138
00:13:02,324 --> 00:13:06,743
And their fellow escapees from the
embassy, Were in urgent need of sanctuary.
139
00:13:06,820 --> 00:13:10,404
It's kinda frightening because we
just worried Somebody would see us.
140
00:13:10,415 --> 00:13:14,325
There weren't that many foreigners still
in iran, And then I have dark hair.
141
00:13:14,336 --> 00:13:19,380
I probably would've blended in a little better,
But mark had kind of dirty blonde hair.
142
00:13:20,583 --> 00:13:26,513
In desperation, the lijeks managed To make contact
with america's Number two diplomat in the city,
143
00:13:26,589 --> 00:13:31,100
The deputy chief of the american
Mission in tehran, victor tomseth.
144
00:13:32,270 --> 00:13:35,763
Tomseth had been across town At
the iranian foreign ministry
145
00:13:35,774 --> 00:13:37,941
When the u.S. Embassy
had been overrun.
146
00:13:39,018 --> 00:13:43,112
In those early days, The foreign
ministry people were still helpful,
147
00:13:43,189 --> 00:13:47,108
So he was allowed to use the phone,
And, he, for whatever reason,
148
00:13:47,118 --> 00:13:50,453
He kind of took
responsibility for helping us.
149
00:13:50,530 --> 00:13:56,200
Tomseth knew he would be monitored By iranian
intelligence, So he decided to call the one person
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00:13:56,211 --> 00:13:58,369
With whom he could speak freely,
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00:14:00,957 --> 00:14:04,634
His friend, the embassy
chef, sam sriweawnetr.
152
00:14:07,964 --> 00:14:09,347
Victor, speak thai to me,
153
00:14:10,216 --> 00:14:15,395
Because I think he cannot speak english Over
there because all iranian could understand.
154
00:14:16,556 --> 00:14:21,651
Tomseth had met sam when he'd worked in
thailand, And had given sam a job cooking
155
00:14:21,728 --> 00:14:23,528
For the embassy staff in tehran.
156
00:14:24,656 --> 00:14:29,158
Now he asked him to risk his life
To save the diplomats on the run.
157
00:14:29,235 --> 00:14:32,236
Victor tomseth told me, "sam,
I've got something new.
158
00:14:32,247 --> 00:14:33,663
"I need your help.
159
00:14:33,740 --> 00:14:35,081
"I need your help."
160
00:14:35,158 --> 00:14:37,491
I said, "yes,
anything, you tell me."
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00:14:37,502 --> 00:14:41,337
He said, "now, sam listen
I got the americans.
162
00:14:41,414 --> 00:14:43,998
"can you help them
hide them someplace?"
163
00:14:44,009 --> 00:14:45,925
I said, "yes, yes,
I will do that."
164
00:14:46,002 --> 00:14:47,427
I think its human to help.
165
00:14:47,503 --> 00:14:49,095
That's what I think.
166
00:14:49,172 --> 00:14:51,264
Some people need help
you have to help them.
167
00:14:53,101 --> 00:14:55,676
Under the cover of
darkness, sam met the lijeks
168
00:14:55,687 --> 00:14:58,813
And guided them to a safe
house belonging to the embassy.
169
00:15:00,358 --> 00:15:03,351
We ran into the house
trying not to be seen.
170
00:15:03,361 --> 00:15:04,777
They are scared.
171
00:15:04,854 --> 00:15:07,530
I made the curtain
close all the time.
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00:15:07,607 --> 00:15:11,776
A lot of our fears were
Lessened because sam was there.
173
00:15:11,786 --> 00:15:13,620
He was going to take care of us.
174
00:15:13,696 --> 00:15:15,112
He could go out publicly.
175
00:15:15,123 --> 00:15:16,447
He could buy food.
176
00:15:16,458 --> 00:15:21,169
He could buy cigarettes whatever, So as
long as we had sam, we had a chance.
177
00:15:22,297 --> 00:15:25,965
Yet, all the time, The threat
of capture was closing in.
178
00:15:28,386 --> 00:15:30,219
We had the "tehran times".
179
00:15:30,296 --> 00:15:33,714
They has pictures on the
front page of the paper.
180
00:15:33,725 --> 00:15:35,967
They were people in blindfolds.
181
00:15:35,977 --> 00:15:40,229
It was immensely disturbing to me
Because that could be us down the road.
182
00:15:41,140 --> 00:15:43,650
I kept thinking,
where's our president?
183
00:15:43,726 --> 00:15:45,234
"what is our government doing?"
184
00:15:47,313 --> 00:15:52,650
President carter's plan was to enforce
Both economic and diplomatic pressure,
185
00:15:52,661 --> 00:15:55,745
To force the ayatollah to
release the american hostages.
186
00:15:57,332 --> 00:15:58,406
It didn't work.
187
00:15:59,834 --> 00:16:06,506
And inside the ransacked embassy The interrogations
of american prisoners were intensifying.
188
00:16:08,251 --> 00:16:11,844
He never got excited,
never raised his voice.
189
00:16:11,921 --> 00:16:15,264
The only reason I could tell That
maybe he didn't quite like an answer
190
00:16:15,341 --> 00:16:19,477
Or two that I might have given him was that
He would sort of play with the revolver.
191
00:16:21,848 --> 00:16:24,732
Of course, you can hear those
cylinders go click, click.
192
00:16:28,021 --> 00:16:32,323
I did not discount the
possibility of an execution,
193
00:16:33,276 --> 00:16:38,029
And I was certainly prepared
psychologically, Mentally for that.
194
00:16:38,039 --> 00:16:39,622
I thought about that every day.
195
00:16:46,039 --> 00:16:52,301
Three days after The storming of the u.S. Embassy,
Secreted in their safe house across town,
196
00:16:52,378 --> 00:16:56,556
The lijeks began to realize there would
be No swift solution to their ordeal.
197
00:16:57,717 --> 00:17:01,644
It was clear that this
thing was getting pretty nasty.
198
00:17:01,721 --> 00:17:07,066
There was no government any longer for us to
negotiate with Other than the ayatollah personally.
199
00:17:07,143 --> 00:17:15,158
So clearly the situation was descending into
chaos, And that made our predicament a lot worse.
200
00:17:16,995 --> 00:17:20,821
It was pretty clear that our
absence would be detected.
201
00:17:20,832 --> 00:17:23,750
I mean it was impossible
for it not to be detected.
202
00:17:23,826 --> 00:17:25,835
It was only a matter
of for how long.
203
00:17:27,422 --> 00:17:31,174
By now iranian revolutionary guards
Were examining embassy records
204
00:17:31,250 --> 00:17:36,512
For evidence of u.S. Safe houses Where
fugitive diplomats could be hiding.
205
00:17:36,589 --> 00:17:41,008
Sam sriweawnetr sensed the
mounting tension on the streets.
206
00:17:41,019 --> 00:17:45,679
When I go shopping buy some food,
A lot of thing I see are bad.
207
00:17:45,690 --> 00:17:49,025
Sam actually got worried And
thought somebody might be coming.
208
00:17:49,102 --> 00:17:52,019
That I think really
heightened our nervousness.
209
00:17:52,030 --> 00:17:54,614
His fear you know
was infectious.
210
00:17:54,690 --> 00:17:58,534
I feel not safe for
them and not safe for me either.
211
00:17:58,611 --> 00:18:01,621
If they catch the five
americans, they're gonna die.
212
00:18:01,697 --> 00:18:04,290
If me, they catch
me, I'm gonna be die.
213
00:18:04,367 --> 00:18:08,452
We have to help them
out, get out of here.
214
00:18:08,463 --> 00:18:10,955
So the lijeks turn
to the one western nation
215
00:18:10,965 --> 00:18:15,209
Whose embassy was not in the
ayatollah's crosshairs: Canada.
216
00:18:18,381 --> 00:18:22,642
Zena sheradown's husband, Veteran
diplomat john sheardown,
217
00:18:22,718 --> 00:18:26,687
Was the canadian's chief immigration
officer In tehran at the time.
218
00:18:27,565 --> 00:18:30,066
He was the lijeks
next port of call.
219
00:18:30,977 --> 00:18:34,028
My husband said, "you are all
welcome "to come and stay with us."
220
00:18:35,064 --> 00:18:41,652
All you're thinking is, "are we gonna be able to
"get them upstairs without being spotted by the
221
00:18:41,663 --> 00:18:44,539
"revolutionary guards who
are up and down the street?"
222
00:18:45,491 --> 00:18:49,410
When we left I think
sam took it almost as an insult,
223
00:18:49,420 --> 00:18:53,914
Because we couldn't tell him where we were
going For his protection as well as ours.
224
00:18:53,925 --> 00:18:56,634
The lijeks made
it out in the nick of time.
225
00:18:58,847 --> 00:19:01,180
All the militants
come two hours after that.
226
00:19:01,257 --> 00:19:05,017
They come to my apartment, "where's
the american, where's the american?"
227
00:19:07,180 --> 00:19:09,522
With a gun pointed to me.
228
00:19:09,599 --> 00:19:11,732
M16 points in my face.
229
00:19:14,103 --> 00:19:16,279
Then I say, "no, I
live here by myself.
230
00:19:16,355 --> 00:19:19,106
"nobody here," I tell them that.
231
00:19:21,611 --> 00:19:24,579
They keep looking around,
but I clean up already.
232
00:19:25,623 --> 00:19:26,998
After that, they left.
233
00:19:31,621 --> 00:19:36,215
By now the ljieks and their fellow fugitives Had
been smuggled from their embassy safe house
234
00:19:36,292 --> 00:19:38,050
And driven to the
sheardown's home.
235
00:19:40,471 --> 00:19:46,142
The car I remember pulled into the garage,
And then he rushed us inside the house.
236
00:19:49,138 --> 00:19:53,566
We got some scotches and sodas
Right away for everybody.
237
00:19:53,643 --> 00:19:55,610
We all needed a stiff drink,
238
00:19:57,071 --> 00:19:59,563
And we started to get
to know each other.
239
00:20:02,818 --> 00:20:07,205
The sherdowns figured they had The perfect
cover to keep the americans diplomats safe.
240
00:20:09,242 --> 00:20:11,250
I don't think they
would suspect us.
241
00:20:11,327 --> 00:20:14,587
Not the canadians they
keep to themselves.
242
00:20:14,664 --> 00:20:16,464
They wouldn't say
boo to a goose.
243
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:23,012
They sent word back to ottawa, That the fugitive
diplomats had arrived safely with them.
244
00:20:27,176 --> 00:20:31,229
Gar pardy was cia liaison for
the canadian foreign office.
245
00:20:32,273 --> 00:20:37,101
The first reaction was, "god, we've got them,
"and at least they're reasonably safe."
246
00:20:38,446 --> 00:20:43,783
But then the realization that This
could go on for some period of time.
247
00:20:43,859 --> 00:20:48,955
It dawned on the canadian officials, The
longer they hid their american colleagues,
248
00:20:49,031 --> 00:20:53,584
The greater the chance of canada becoming
embroiled In the wider conflict in the region.
249
00:20:54,787 --> 00:20:58,872
The iranians themselves were probably starting
To realize that there were some people
250
00:20:58,883 --> 00:21:03,970
That were not accounted for in the 52,
And they would be starting to sharpen
251
00:21:04,046 --> 00:21:08,057
Their own investigation, if you like,
Their own looking for the six.
252
00:21:08,977 --> 00:21:10,893
And then what do you
do at this point?
253
00:21:12,805 --> 00:21:18,609
At the american embassy, Bill daugherty was under
increasing pressure To give up key documents.
254
00:21:23,149 --> 00:21:28,035
I got a lot of questions as to why I was
in this office with this big vault.
255
00:21:29,747 --> 00:21:33,082
The vault contained All the
cia intelligence reports
256
00:21:33,159 --> 00:21:39,171
Bill had been working on when the embassy
had fallen, Names, dates, and places.
257
00:21:39,248 --> 00:21:41,332
I kept telling them,
"no, I can't open the vault."
258
00:21:43,586 --> 00:21:49,098
Daugherty now believed the iranians Were unlikely
to execute him until he'd opened the safe.
259
00:21:50,685 --> 00:21:54,520
Frustrated by how long he had
Withstood brutal interrogation,
260
00:21:54,597 --> 00:21:57,097
The revolutionaries
now upped the ante.
261
00:21:57,108 --> 00:22:04,363
I wasn't necessarily under the belief That
they would actually execute me right away.
262
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,941
But then they said, "well, we'll get
the secretary "and bring her up here,"
263
00:22:07,952 --> 00:22:10,361
And that's when there
was decision time.
264
00:22:11,947 --> 00:22:17,001
If he refused to open the safe now, The iranians
made it clear they would execute his secretary.
265
00:22:19,205 --> 00:22:24,800
Look there was nothing In
that embassy worth dying for.
266
00:22:24,877 --> 00:22:26,126
Not a thing.
267
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,140
I said, "okay, the
combination's in my wallet."
268
00:22:37,056 --> 00:22:38,647
I'd shredded all the documents.
269
00:22:40,485 --> 00:22:42,693
I thought, "oh, I'm
really in trouble now."
270
00:22:45,490 --> 00:22:49,408
Undeterred, the revolutionaries
Brought in teams of carpet
271
00:22:49,485 --> 00:22:53,162
Weavers to piece together
the fragments of paperwork.
272
00:22:56,409 --> 00:22:59,418
It was only a matter of time before
they'd work out That bill was cia.
273
00:23:00,338 --> 00:23:04,215
But that wasn't the only information The
iranians would get from the paperwork.
274
00:23:05,334 --> 00:23:10,012
For the six u.S. Fugitives Hiding at the
home of a canadian embassy official,
275
00:23:10,089 --> 00:23:13,516
The tension was about to
ratchet to breaking point.
276
00:23:18,180 --> 00:23:22,733
By January 1980, The iranian
hostage crisis had escalated.
277
00:23:24,529 --> 00:23:30,533
The ayatollah's carpet weavers had reassembled
Thousands of pages of shredded cia documents,
278
00:23:30,609 --> 00:23:34,453
Exposing the identities of u.S. Agents
And their informants in tehran.
279
00:23:36,874 --> 00:23:42,628
At the canadian embassy, roger lucy observed
How this stoked the hatred toward america.
280
00:23:45,133 --> 00:23:51,303
The atmosphere in the city Was getting more and
more tense As the students pieced together
281
00:23:51,380 --> 00:23:57,801
More gems from the not-very-well Shredded
paperwork at the american embassy.
282
00:23:57,812 --> 00:24:00,637
More and more iranians
were getting arrested
283
00:24:00,648 --> 00:24:04,567
Because they'd been mentioned
in some american's memo.
284
00:24:04,643 --> 00:24:10,156
Of course, that was almost a death sentence For
people who got mentioned in these dispatches.
285
00:24:12,076 --> 00:24:14,067
Trapped in the home of
a canadian embassy official,
286
00:24:14,078 --> 00:24:19,907
Mark and cora lijek, and their fellow u.S.
Embassy workers, Were feeling the pressure.
287
00:24:21,919 --> 00:24:25,171
We couldn't go out Because we just
worried somebody would see us.
288
00:24:27,008 --> 00:24:28,499
People would ring the doorbell.
289
00:24:28,509 --> 00:24:31,084
We'd have to lock
ourselves in the den.
290
00:24:31,095 --> 00:24:35,097
Anything unusual, even the phone ringing,
It was just, "who's that calling?"
291
00:24:35,174 --> 00:24:39,510
Even if you tried to be rational, You
can't totally get it out of your head.
292
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,731
We thought somebody might be coming, And we
were afraid they might be coming any minute.
293
00:24:44,934 --> 00:24:49,862
All we would try to do is survive,
Survive from one day to the next.
294
00:24:49,939 --> 00:24:51,447
We were on the alert.
295
00:24:51,524 --> 00:24:56,777
Every time I heard a car stop
in front, Especially at night,
296
00:24:56,787 --> 00:25:01,207
I would get up and look
to see who was out there.
297
00:25:01,283 --> 00:25:05,961
I hardly slept, Probably
awake for most of the time.
298
00:25:06,964 --> 00:25:09,373
Eventually it does take a toll.
299
00:25:09,383 --> 00:25:11,792
Yeah, I think, I
was a bag of nerves.
300
00:25:11,802 --> 00:25:13,126
How would it end?
301
00:25:21,479 --> 00:25:26,649
On the 71st day of the hostage crisis
The united nations security council
302
00:25:26,725 --> 00:25:29,818
Proposed crippling economic
sanctions against iran.
303
00:25:30,988 --> 00:25:36,316
But the soviet union saw an opportunity To
further weaken american influence in the region,
304
00:25:36,327 --> 00:25:38,902
And vetoed the motion.
305
00:25:38,913 --> 00:25:44,833
With no diplomatic solution in sight, The
situation was becoming More dangerous by the day.
306
00:25:47,246 --> 00:25:48,754
I felt abandoned.
307
00:25:48,831 --> 00:25:53,834
I thought that there
had to be some options.
308
00:25:53,844 --> 00:25:55,094
That the u.S. Government,
309
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,767
A super power, has been
humiliated by the ayatollah.
310
00:26:03,187 --> 00:26:09,433
In ottawa, the canadian government Was becoming
increasingly nervous Of hiding u.S. Fugitives,
311
00:26:09,443 --> 00:26:11,902
And being dragged into
an american crisis.
312
00:26:15,858 --> 00:26:19,526
Suddenly the canadian
press were counting the numbers.
313
00:26:19,537 --> 00:26:25,365
The fact that there were more americans Within
the american embassy than the 52 accounted for.
314
00:26:25,376 --> 00:26:30,045
And the journalists were putting all of this
together, And that's when the realization
315
00:26:30,122 --> 00:26:33,215
Was we needed to do something
fairly quickly for the six.
316
00:26:34,802 --> 00:26:38,712
If the canadian media had worked out There
were some western diplomats unaccounted for,
317
00:26:38,723 --> 00:26:43,726
It was only a matter of time Before the
iranian revolutionaries did the same.
318
00:26:45,220 --> 00:26:48,722
There was that realization,
"god, what do we do here?"
319
00:26:48,733 --> 00:26:53,444
That's when the cia were called
in, And things started to get,
320
00:26:54,313 --> 00:26:56,989
I guess you might say,
considerably more professional
321
00:26:57,066 --> 00:26:59,908
When it came to the noble
art of exfiltration.
322
00:27:01,487 --> 00:27:05,572
To get the american diplomats out,
The cia would have to send a man in,
323
00:27:05,583 --> 00:27:08,659
A man with a very
special skillset.
324
00:27:10,412 --> 00:27:17,334
When it came to who should the cia go to In
the operation to help these six americans
325
00:27:17,345 --> 00:27:20,095
Who were hiding out in tehran,
"how can we get them out?
326
00:27:20,172 --> 00:27:21,096
"who is the expert?"
327
00:27:21,173 --> 00:27:22,014
It was tony.
328
00:27:24,343 --> 00:27:27,645
Tony mendez was
the cia's exfiltration expert.
329
00:27:28,606 --> 00:27:30,263
His specialty:
330
00:27:30,274 --> 00:27:33,317
Rescuing clandestine agents
and political refugees.
331
00:27:34,436 --> 00:27:41,441
Tony knew how to Get people
in and out of tough spots.
332
00:27:41,452 --> 00:27:43,443
He'd done this
many times before.
333
00:27:43,454 --> 00:27:45,779
He knew the dangers.
334
00:27:45,790 --> 00:27:47,331
He knew what needed to be done.
335
00:27:48,709 --> 00:27:54,129
Over the course of his 14 year career,
Mendez became the cia's undisputed
336
00:27:54,206 --> 00:27:56,548
Master of forgery and disguise.
337
00:27:57,802 --> 00:28:03,964
One of the things that tony brought to his
work Was this idea of looking outside
338
00:28:03,974 --> 00:28:07,059
The traditional
areas of expertise.
339
00:28:07,136 --> 00:28:12,064
So, he wasn't looking at defense
contractors and scientists.
340
00:28:12,141 --> 00:28:13,649
He was going to hollywood.
341
00:28:15,144 --> 00:28:19,154
He was working on the sets of
movies Learning the techniques.
342
00:28:20,399 --> 00:28:24,493
Mendez applied his hollywood
skills To clandestine trade craft.
343
00:28:25,654 --> 00:28:28,414
He turned to costume
designers and graphic artists
344
00:28:28,490 --> 00:28:32,668
To provide agents with
perfect props and disguises.
345
00:28:32,745 --> 00:28:35,746
It transformed the
agency's capabilities.
346
00:28:35,756 --> 00:28:40,000
That was the beginning of making people in
the cia Understand that disguise wasn't
347
00:28:40,010 --> 00:28:42,002
Just a bad wig and
a fake mustache.
348
00:28:42,012 --> 00:28:47,266
This was the ability to actually turn
somebody Into a completely different person.
349
00:28:48,185 --> 00:28:51,094
He took disguise
to another level.
350
00:28:52,773 --> 00:28:57,985
But smuggling six terrified american diplomats
Out of tehran would be his toughest mission yet.
351
00:28:59,363 --> 00:29:03,106
His first job was, "how
can we get them out?
352
00:29:03,117 --> 00:29:08,528
"who are they let's come up with a
story "for why they're in tehran."
353
00:29:08,539 --> 00:29:13,784
He knew that at some point these people Were
gonna have to go through airport security,
354
00:29:13,794 --> 00:29:18,380
Customs, border controls, And
they had no clandestine training.
355
00:29:18,457 --> 00:29:23,877
So he was saying, "we need to create a
scenario that they will believe in,
356
00:29:23,888 --> 00:29:29,800
"that will get them to buy into it, "and
give them the confidence to escape."
357
00:29:29,810 --> 00:29:35,314
And then he thought, "what about a
hollywood location scouting party?"
358
00:29:35,390 --> 00:29:38,058
Everybody knows a little bit
of something about hollywood.
359
00:29:39,311 --> 00:29:42,896
Tony mendez knew The more
believable the cover story,
360
00:29:42,907 --> 00:29:45,574
The easier it would be for
the diplomats to stick to.
361
00:29:46,410 --> 00:29:50,078
So, he set up a fake
film production company.
362
00:29:50,155 --> 00:29:53,999
Tony decided to name the
company studio six productions.
363
00:29:54,919 --> 00:29:57,878
The connection being the six
americans who are hiding out.
364
00:29:58,914 --> 00:30:04,251
Studio six needed a plausible film script,
So he called an old hollywood contact,
365
00:30:04,261 --> 00:30:07,346
Award-winning make-up
artist john chambers.
366
00:30:08,182 --> 00:30:13,602
At the time john had been given a
script About a science fiction movie.
367
00:30:13,679 --> 00:30:18,598
One of the locations was set in a
bazaar In a middle easter country,
368
00:30:18,609 --> 00:30:21,235
And tony thought, "you know,
this could be perfect."
369
00:30:22,187 --> 00:30:27,699
Mendez re-named the script "argo", And wrote
articles for the hollywood trade press,
370
00:30:27,776 --> 00:30:30,035
To give it the publicity
of a genuine project.
371
00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:38,293
Hollywood being a town of make believe, It wasn't
long before they actually were sent scripts
372
00:30:38,370 --> 00:30:40,712
From other producers
and writers.
373
00:30:40,789 --> 00:30:47,553
By mid-January 1980, Mendez's cover, studio
six productions, was up and running.
374
00:30:47,629 --> 00:30:50,639
If anyone checked, the company
would appear legitimate.
375
00:30:51,967 --> 00:30:57,646
Now tony mendez could enter iran using
his alias, A location production scout
376
00:30:57,723 --> 00:31:02,475
Looking for a middle eastern location
For the hollywood blockbuster "argo".
377
00:31:04,813 --> 00:31:08,490
It's actually a huge
risk to him to go into tehran.
378
00:31:09,401 --> 00:31:14,538
If he had been captured, He was convinced
that he would be tortured and killed.
379
00:31:15,490 --> 00:31:18,166
In tehran, mendez had no backup.
380
00:31:18,243 --> 00:31:21,837
If his cover story was blown,
there could be no rescue.
381
00:31:21,914 --> 00:31:27,759
The ayatollah had tightened his grip on power,
And there were few in iran the cia could trust.
382
00:31:28,846 --> 00:31:34,090
Cia agents like bill daugherty Had been
tortured to give up their contacts,
383
00:31:34,101 --> 00:31:38,270
Who were then being systematically
Rounded up and imprisoned or worse.
384
00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:46,019
They named a woman
that I had been seeing.
385
00:31:46,030 --> 00:31:50,949
She was a senior administrator
in the ministry of education.
386
00:31:51,026 --> 00:31:55,120
There was nothing she could tell us That would
harm their government, absolutely nothing,
387
00:31:56,707 --> 00:31:58,114
And he said, "oh, we shot her."
388
00:32:01,462 --> 00:32:04,463
He was so casual about it,
And I was really pissed.
389
00:32:06,291 --> 00:32:11,303
They took a plastic cord
and tied my wrists together.
390
00:32:15,801 --> 00:32:18,268
It literally cut off the
blood flow to the hands,
391
00:32:19,972 --> 00:32:23,523
And they waited, and
the hands swelled up,
392
00:32:24,726 --> 00:32:26,860
And the skin became
very, very sensitive,
393
00:32:28,072 --> 00:32:31,490
And then they laid them on the desk
And hit it with a rubber hose.
394
00:32:36,914 --> 00:32:41,241
It was a lot more painful
than I would have imagined.
395
00:32:41,251 --> 00:32:43,326
It was a kurd that did it.
396
00:32:43,337 --> 00:32:44,670
That big beefy kurd,
397
00:32:45,756 --> 00:32:47,381
And he took great
pleasure in it.
398
00:32:49,176 --> 00:32:51,677
And I wanna kill that son
of a bitch to this day.
399
00:33:00,604 --> 00:33:05,265
By the end of January 1980, Many
washington politicos believed
400
00:33:05,275 --> 00:33:09,486
The only way to resolve the hostage
crisis Was to send in special forces.
401
00:33:13,117 --> 00:33:19,612
What they didn't know Was that cia agent
tony mendez Was already at the airport.
402
00:33:23,785 --> 00:33:28,121
Tony's cover he's flying in As
the location scouting manager.
403
00:33:28,132 --> 00:33:30,373
He's in charge of
this film production.
404
00:33:30,384 --> 00:33:32,459
He's traveling under an alias.
405
00:33:32,469 --> 00:33:35,137
Mendez knew as long
as he could keep his cover,
406
00:33:35,213 --> 00:33:38,724
Iranian security would have no
reason to suspect he was cia.
407
00:33:39,643 --> 00:33:43,303
What he didn't know was If the
diplomats he was here to rescue,
408
00:33:43,313 --> 00:33:46,273
Would be able to maintain
their cover stories.
409
00:33:47,726 --> 00:33:50,810
By this time, the lijeks
and their fellow fugitives
410
00:33:50,821 --> 00:33:55,574
Had been in hiding for 84
days, living on their nerves.
411
00:33:58,078 --> 00:34:00,829
Tony needed to assess
their state of mind.
412
00:34:00,906 --> 00:34:02,581
This was incredibly important.
413
00:34:02,657 --> 00:34:03,999
He was worried.
414
00:34:04,076 --> 00:34:05,575
He didn't know if
they would crack.
415
00:34:05,586 --> 00:34:07,660
He didn't know if
they'd already cracked.
416
00:34:07,671 --> 00:34:11,831
The door opens, the americans are
inside, And they're waiting for him.
417
00:34:11,842 --> 00:34:17,929
Mendez had less than 36 hours To transform six
diplomats Into a credible canadian film crew
418
00:34:18,006 --> 00:34:20,432
And get them on a
plane out of tehran.
419
00:34:20,509 --> 00:34:21,841
I don't understand.
420
00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:25,678
I was supposed to be the
script writer for the movie.
421
00:34:25,689 --> 00:34:28,190
I was the
transportation coordinator.
422
00:34:28,266 --> 00:34:34,187
We were given enough information to memorize
That it would withstand cursory scrutiny,
423
00:34:34,198 --> 00:34:39,943
But not so much that we'd be all
paranoid About forgetting some detail.
424
00:34:39,953 --> 00:34:46,616
And this is when he brings out All the
things that he's been able to create
425
00:34:46,627 --> 00:34:50,870
The script, the drawings,
the business cards.
426
00:34:50,881 --> 00:34:54,800
He'd brought a copy of the "hollywood
reporter", With an ad for "argo".
427
00:34:54,876 --> 00:34:59,879
He had people back in hollywood Who could be
called if someone were going to check on us.
428
00:34:59,890 --> 00:35:01,973
We had what he called,
"pocket litter."
429
00:35:02,050 --> 00:35:06,728
A key chain, other people's business
cards That you'd met along the way.
430
00:35:06,805 --> 00:35:09,648
Of course, the main thing we
had was the canadian passports.
431
00:35:11,068 --> 00:35:16,479
The canadian government Had supplied the american
diplomats With genuine canadian passports.
432
00:35:16,490 --> 00:35:19,783
Now the u.S. Diplomats had
to become those people.
433
00:35:21,912 --> 00:35:26,331
Tony lays out the plan, And he said, "okay,
guys, you need to practice these roles.
434
00:35:26,408 --> 00:35:28,416
"you need to learn
these identities."
435
00:35:28,493 --> 00:35:30,919
We weren't trained for that.
436
00:35:30,996 --> 00:35:35,340
We weren't spies, and we didn't Have the
benefit of that kind of experience.
437
00:35:35,417 --> 00:35:38,343
But tony stressed that
438
00:35:39,504 --> 00:35:42,172
All we had to do was
follow instructions.
439
00:35:42,182 --> 00:35:47,394
Most of the americans are on board
Except for one, joe stafford.
440
00:35:49,598 --> 00:35:52,849
The concern was, "we all need
to be on the same page here.
441
00:35:52,860 --> 00:35:55,935
"is joe on the same page?
442
00:35:55,946 --> 00:36:00,031
Tehran was joe stafford's First foreign
post with the u.S. State department.
443
00:36:01,026 --> 00:36:05,620
Now, he was battling doubts as to whether He
should play along with the cover story at all.
444
00:36:06,540 --> 00:36:08,874
Joe stafford didn't wanna leave.
445
00:36:08,950 --> 00:36:10,783
He felt we were
abandoning the others,
446
00:36:10,794 --> 00:36:15,755
And he made very little effort
to really get into his role.
447
00:36:17,885 --> 00:36:21,887
Mendez's extraction plan relied On
everyone playing their parts convincingly.
448
00:36:22,723 --> 00:36:27,467
And if the revolutionary guard Spotted
a flaw in anyone's performance,
449
00:36:27,477 --> 00:36:30,136
It was gonna be tony
mendez in the firing line.
450
00:36:36,403 --> 00:36:38,069
Tony goes in first.
451
00:36:38,146 --> 00:36:40,614
There's a big thing that
he has is trust your gut.
452
00:36:41,909 --> 00:36:44,201
If he doesn't like it,
they're gonna abort.
453
00:36:45,904 --> 00:36:50,832
In the early morning, there were relatively Few
revolutionary guards on duty at the airport.
454
00:36:52,336 --> 00:36:53,752
He gives the signal.
455
00:36:55,422 --> 00:36:57,422
Send in the six americans.
456
00:37:00,177 --> 00:37:02,719
I was scared, you
know, it was a scary thing.
457
00:37:04,506 --> 00:37:09,017
But then there was tony, and he was smiling
That meant everything was good, just proceed.
458
00:37:11,104 --> 00:37:15,941
The six diplomats and tony joined The queue
for passport control at tehran airport.
459
00:37:16,860 --> 00:37:21,988
Crew member of studio six productions
Heading home from a location scouting trip.
460
00:37:26,036 --> 00:37:28,620
I was worried
somebody might recognize us.
461
00:37:30,699 --> 00:37:35,377
When you arrive at post, you have to submit A
bunch of photographs to the foreign ministry.
462
00:37:35,453 --> 00:37:36,878
Who knows where those
photographs were.
463
00:37:36,955 --> 00:37:41,040
They could be on the wall at the airport,
And so that was a little bit concerning.
464
00:37:41,051 --> 00:37:43,218
Butt, there's no help for it.
465
00:37:43,295 --> 00:37:46,179
You just have to
hope for the best.
466
00:37:47,474 --> 00:37:49,882
The canadian
passports were genuine.
467
00:37:49,893 --> 00:37:52,719
But the rest of their
documents were a problem.
468
00:37:52,729 --> 00:37:57,140
Mendez had expertly forged
the diplomats' exit visas.
469
00:37:57,150 --> 00:38:02,988
The trouble was they were supposed to match A
counterfoil entry visa at passport control,
470
00:38:03,064 --> 00:38:05,490
A counterfoil that didn't exist.
471
00:38:05,567 --> 00:38:10,403
The fellow was supposed to take The
yellow visa paper out of our passports
472
00:38:10,414 --> 00:38:13,906
And check for the matching
copy in the files.
473
00:38:13,917 --> 00:38:15,667
The guy took the papers,
474
00:38:17,504 --> 00:38:19,587
But he didn't check anything.
475
00:38:22,751 --> 00:38:23,758
Thank you.
476
00:38:26,346 --> 00:38:30,432
One by one the american fugitives
Cleared passport security.
477
00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:35,687
Then in the departure lounge,
They heard an announcement.
478
00:38:35,764 --> 00:38:39,349
Their 7:30 a.M. Flight
had been delayed
479
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:47,866
So at that point
I'm freaking out.
480
00:38:47,942 --> 00:38:53,112
The longer we're there the better the
chance Of something going wrong.
481
00:38:53,123 --> 00:38:55,373
The plane had
a mechanical problem.
482
00:38:55,450 --> 00:38:57,000
But that wasn't the only issue.
483
00:38:58,953 --> 00:39:03,956
The revolutionary guards tony was hoping Weren't
gonna be there are now making the rounds.
484
00:39:03,967 --> 00:39:05,383
They're harassing people.
485
00:39:06,970 --> 00:39:11,765
The americans begin to worry About whether
or not this cover story is gonna hold up,
486
00:39:13,727 --> 00:39:18,721
And tony becomes a little concerned
That one them might crack.
487
00:39:20,317 --> 00:39:24,143
By now, the tension Was taking
its toll on joe stafford,
488
00:39:24,154 --> 00:39:27,238
And he had stopped playing
his part altogether.
489
00:39:27,315 --> 00:39:28,564
Joe made no effort.
490
00:39:28,575 --> 00:39:32,327
He was reading a farsi newspaper
Before tony took it away from him.
491
00:39:32,404 --> 00:39:35,080
He kept calling cora
by her real name.
492
00:39:35,156 --> 00:39:39,084
We were definitely worried
That joe might give us away.
493
00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:42,087
It was clear that joe was
feeling Guilty about leaving.
494
00:39:42,163 --> 00:39:48,668
He didn't want to leave tehran While these
other americans were being held hostage.
495
00:39:48,678 --> 00:39:52,806
If stafford blew their cover, The
consequences for the group were dire.
496
00:39:54,518 --> 00:39:58,395
But for a cia officer, they
were likely to be fatal.
497
00:40:02,434 --> 00:40:03,516
Everybody is nervous.
498
00:40:03,527 --> 00:40:05,193
The mood is anxious.
499
00:40:05,270 --> 00:40:11,116
Tony is looking at the scenario Through
the lens of problems, solutions.
500
00:40:11,192 --> 00:40:14,944
They just have to wait, And they
just have to keep their cool.
501
00:40:14,955 --> 00:40:18,114
Tony he inspired
a lot of confidence.
502
00:40:18,125 --> 00:40:19,782
He said, "just stay calm.
503
00:40:19,793 --> 00:40:22,752
"we'll just hang here," so
I was able to calm down.
504
00:40:24,381 --> 00:40:28,675
After 30 minutes they announced That
the plane was ready to be boarded.
505
00:40:29,711 --> 00:40:32,220
Every step was
another step closer.
506
00:40:35,884 --> 00:40:43,356
At 8:30 a.M., on January 28, 1980, The lijek's
plane finally left tehran for zurich.
507
00:40:44,484 --> 00:40:50,655
85 days after they'd fled their besieged embassy,
And accompanied by the cia master of disguise
508
00:40:50,732 --> 00:40:56,453
Who'd orchestrated their escape, The american
diplomats were at last on their way home.
509
00:40:58,656 --> 00:41:04,327
We figured we finally were safe when they
announced We were out of iranian airspace.
510
00:41:04,337 --> 00:41:08,423
At that point we ordered some bloody
mary's And toasted each other.
511
00:41:09,426 --> 00:41:10,300
It was over.
512
00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:17,423
Though it was over for the six, It wasn't
yet over for the 52 american hostages
513
00:41:17,434 --> 00:41:19,267
Still held at the u.S. Embassy.
514
00:41:22,514 --> 00:41:28,943
A few months later, on April 24, 1980,
A desperate president jimmy carter
515
00:41:29,020 --> 00:41:31,112
Launched a military
rescue attempt.
516
00:41:32,774 --> 00:41:35,274
It ended in disaster
in the desert.
517
00:41:35,285 --> 00:41:37,619
Eight american
servicemen were killed.
518
00:41:37,695 --> 00:41:39,287
Several more were injured.
519
00:41:41,282 --> 00:41:44,617
Bill daugherty and 51
of his fellow americans
520
00:41:44,628 --> 00:41:54,719
Would remain in captivity in iran until
January 20, 1981, A total of 444 days.
521
00:41:55,889 --> 00:41:59,549
It was difficult
knowing they were still there.
522
00:41:59,559 --> 00:42:02,552
That was really difficult.
523
00:42:04,222 --> 00:42:09,308
At the time, any involvement by the cia
In the lijek's escape was kept secret,
524
00:42:09,319 --> 00:42:12,237
To avoid reprisals against
the remaining hostages.
525
00:42:14,991 --> 00:42:22,997
One of the unique things about tony And the
individuals like him who work in the cia,
526
00:42:23,074 --> 00:42:26,918
Is they know that they
will never get credit.
527
00:42:26,995 --> 00:42:32,006
But full credit was given to the canadians
For their heroic role in the escape.
528
00:42:33,585 --> 00:42:37,587
Canadians invested a lot of effort
In keeping us safe all those months.
529
00:42:37,597 --> 00:42:40,515
It was a pretty
big risk keeping us there.
530
00:42:40,592 --> 00:42:46,846
Zena she was our protector From the outside
world, The barrier between us and them.
531
00:42:48,433 --> 00:42:51,517
I don't regret any of it.
532
00:42:51,528 --> 00:42:54,696
What would we have felt
like if they were caught?
533
00:42:54,772 --> 00:42:57,699
I don't think I would have been
able To live with that myself.
534
00:43:01,538 --> 00:43:07,783
Only when cia files were declassified 17
years later could the truth be revealed.
535
00:43:07,794 --> 00:43:11,037
How one man devised a plot
Straight out of a hollywood movie,
536
00:43:11,047 --> 00:43:15,625
To stage one of the boldest recuse
missions In the agency's history.
537
00:43:15,675 --> 00:43:20,225
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