The Iranian Embassy Siege: What the SAS Did When Cameras Were Rolling
The Iranian Embassy siege of 1980 was the moment Britain’s most secretive regiment kicked the door off the closet on live national TV. Six gunmen stormed 16 Princes Gate in South Kensington on April 30, 1980, and held 26 hostages for six days — until 7:23 p.m. on May 5, when the SAS rappelled off the roof in black balaclavas and ended Operation Nimrod in 17 explosive minutes. Millions of Britons were watching the FA Cup snooker final on the BBC when the broadcast cut to a burning embassy. Nothing about the special forces world, British counter-terrorism, or the political career of Margaret Thatcher would ever be quite the same again.
The SAS storm 16 Princes Gate during Operation Nimrod, May 5, 1980. Image via War History Online archive.
How the Iranian Embassy Siege Started on April 30, 1980
At 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday April 30, six men carrying submachine guns, pistols and grenades pushed past Police Constable Trevor Lock at the front door of the Iranian Embassy at 16 Princes Gate. Within minutes they had rounded up everyone in the building — embassy staff, four British visitors, two BBC men, a Pakistani tourist and a Syrian journalist. In total 26 hostages, plus PC Lock, were now under the control of a group calling itself the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan (DRFLA), Iranian Arabs from the oil-rich Khuzestan province who were furious at the new Khomeini regime in Tehran.
