February 14, 1979

The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan dies in hail of gunfire from Afghan troops as others plot to rescue him from four kidnappers in a Kabul hotel room. Just as U.S. officials believed they had persuaded Afghan Interior Ministry officials not to storm the room, a gunshot was heard, spurring the spray of bullets.

November 4, 1979

Tehran , Iran: Islamic students stormed the U.S. Embassy and took 66 American diplomats hostage. Thirteen were soon released, but over 50 remaining were held hostage. President Jimmy Carter applied economic pressure by halting Iranian oil imports and freezing Iranian assets in the United States . On April 24,1980, the Carter administration attempted a rescue mission that failed, when three of the mission's eight helicopters were damaged in a sandstorm. After Ronald Reagan's election in November, successful negotiations began, and Iran released the remaining hostages shortly after his inauguration on January 20, 1981.

November 20, 1979

Mecca : At least 200 Sunni Islamic dissidents seized control of the Grand Mosque at Mecca , one of the holiest sites in Islam, taking hundreds of pilgrims hostage. The standoff lasted for several weeks. Saudi and French security forces retook the shrine after an intense battle in which some 250 people were killed and 600 wounded.

 November 21, 1979

Islamabad , Pakistan: The US Embassy is attacked by a mob and set afire, killing four.