376. The SAS and the Iranian Embassy Siege: Part 1

Battleground

Goalhanger

History

4.5 • 820 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

In 1980, the SAS was a shadowy unit few had heard of. Six days at the Iranian Embassy changed that forever. In the spring of that year, the eyes of the world turned to a quiet corner of South Kensington, London. Six armed gunmen had stormed the Iranian Embassy, taking 26 hostages and sparking a high-stakes standoff that would change the face of counter-terrorism forever. In the first of a special two-part series, hosts Saul David and Patrick Bishop trace the origins of the crisis, exploring the geopolitical tinderbox that led the gunmen to 16 Princes Gate and the desperate "strategy of patience" employed by the British government. They also look at how the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre forced Britain to create a dedicated counter-terrorist capability within the SAS. The moment the gunmen struck, the secret weapon hidden on a British police officer, and the agonising deliberations inside COBRA and the "bluff" that finally triggered the order to send in the SAS. As the sun sets on Day Six, the order is given: "Go in." The hostage-takers think a coach is coming to take them to the airport. They are wrong. Don't miss Part 2, where we break down the legendary SAS raid itself: the room-by-room clearance, the near-disasters, and the legacy of the most famous special forces operation in British history. If you have any thoughts or questions, you can send them to - podbattleground@gmail.com Producer: James Hodgson X (Twitter): @PodBattleground Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the Battleground Special Forces podcast with me Saul David and Patrick Bishop.
0:18.4	This week and next in a two-part special, we're discussing Operation Nimrod,
0:22.5	the famous SAS operation that ended the Iranian embassy siege in London on the 5th of May, 1980.
0:29.2	In today's episode, we cover the creation of the SAS's CT, that's counter-terrorist capability,
0:34.7	in the mid-1970s, its first use at Mogadishu in 1977,
0:40.2	and the six-day siege at the Iranian embassy in London that preceded Nimrod.
0:45.0	In next week's episode, we'll discuss the SAS raid itself, what actually happened,
0:49.6	how close did it come to failure, and what were the longer-term consequences?
0:54.0	I think it's worse, Saul, is it, reminding listeners, that this period we're talking about
0:58.7	is the culmination of a process that begins in the late 1960s, which is this phenomenon of
1:04.5	global terrorism, which included spectacular attacks on Western targets, particularly
1:10.8	we saw plane hijackings, airport assaults,
1:14.8	the kidnapping of diplomats, etc.
1:17.8	And it's really kind of pioneered by Palestinian groups
1:21.5	who in the wake of Israel's defeat of the Arab armies
1:25.8	and the Six Day War of 1967 needed a new tactic to, as they put it,
1:31.0	get the Israeli boot off the back of the Arab neck. And they were soon emulated by extreme
1:37.5	left-wing terrorists of Europe and the Far East, like the Balham-Meynhoff gang, the Japanese Red Army,
1:45.5	the Red Brigades.
1:53.7	And they were, there's a kind of global network really here of, you know, far left groups,
2:05.7	militant groups who are teaming up with the Palestinians and together forming a kind of all-purpose, you know, revolutionary, anti-capitalist and also anti-Zionist, nexus across the globe. And, you know, the grand aim of all this is to bring
2:13.7	about world revolution, the end of the capitalist, imperialist system, etc.
	...

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