Iranian Embassy Siege: Explosive SAS raid caught live on TV (1980)

“Who’s that? They’ve got masks on…”

Tributes are being paid to Mel Parry, one of the last veterans of the famous SAS raid that ended the Iranian Embassy siege 43 years ago, who died yesterday. Iranian-Arab separatists stormed the Iranian embassy in London on 30 April 1980 and, taking 26 hostages, demanded sovereignty for Iran’s south-western Khuzestan province as well as safe passage out of Britain. Refusal of their demands led to an increasingly tense six-day siege. When, on 5 May, the gunmen made a brutal attempt to break the deadlock by executing hostage Abbas Lavasani and dumping his body on the embassy steps, the SAS teams on site readied themselves to go in.

Codenamed Operation Nimrod, the coordinated assault was caught on ITN’s cameras and its opening stages were broadcast on live television. ITN’s footage of Blue Team detonating high explosives on a first-floor window of the embassy is one of the most enduring images of the raid. After just 17 minutes, the SAS had successfully rescued all but one of the remaining hostages and killed five of the six hostage-takers. While the Special Air Service was created during the Second World War, the regiment had maintained a low public profile until the televised daylight raid won the SAS a newfound fame. 

Since his passing, Mel Parry has been remembered by those who served alongside him. Former SAS colleague Bob Shepherd described Parry as “arguably one of the finest men to have served in 22 SAS Regiment in my time”, while SAS veteran and author Chris Ryan called Parry “a gentleman and an incredible soldier”.

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To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below: 

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/videos/...

To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below:

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