How many days did the Iran Hostage Crisis last?

• A. 365 days
• B. 730 days
• C. 500 days
• D. 444 days

Answer: (D)

The situation is measured by the number of days between when the crisis began and when the hostages were released. It lasted 444 days, spanning from November 4, 1979, when Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, to January 20, 1981, when the hostages were finally released as the new administration took office. That makes it a little over one year and two months. The figure 444 days is the commonly cited duration because it matches those dates exactly. If you think about the other numbers, they imply end dates that don’t line up with the actual release date: 365 days would be about a year later, 730 days would be two years later, and 500 days would push the end into a later time not corresponding to January 1981.