On April 24-25, 1980, the United States Armed Forces launched Operation Eagle Claw, under the direct order of then-president Jimmy Carter, in an attempt to release its 52 embassy staff held in Tehran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The operation, however, failed as a sandstorm crippled the US forces and their helicopters in Iran’s Tabas Desert.
Many believe the incident played a major role in Carter’s defeat in the 1980 presidential election in the US.