Den of Espionage

The Espionage Den (Persian:لانه جاسوسی) is the popular name given to the U. S. embassy in Tehran following the takeover of the embassy that marked the start of the Iran hostage crisis . It is variously translated "espionage den", "den of espionage," and "nest of spies."

After the fall of the embassy, Revolutionary Guard used it as a training center. The brick walls that form the perimeter (the embassy grounds are the size of a city block) feature a number of anti-American murals commissioned by the government of Iran. The site has also housed a bookstore and a museum. The official Great Seal of the United States is badly damaged but still visible at the entryway. The Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line published documents seized in the embassy (including painstakingly reconstructed shredded documents) in a series of books called "Documents from the US Espionage Den" (Persian:اسناد لانه جاسوسی امریكا). These books included telegrams, corrpespondence, and reports from the U.S. State Department and Central Intelligence Agency, some of which remain classified to this day.

ee also

*Iran hostage crisis
*US-Iran relations

References

* [http://www.fas.org/sgp/bulletin/sec70.html Federation of American Scientists on the Espionage Den]

External links

* [http://www.thememoryhole.org/espionage_den/photos.htm The Memory Hole] hosts a gallery of photographs taken from inside the US Embassy during the crisis.
* [http://www.thememoryhole.com/espionage_den/index.htm The Memory Hole] 400 Pages of Still-Classified CIA and State Dept Documents Seized From the US Embassy in Tehran.
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/35468145869@N01/15406/ Contemporary photograph of the embassy gates] (on flickr)