How US flick distorts today in Iran history

'Argo', a 2012 feature directed by US actor Ben Affleck, has distorted the reality of the US embassy takeover in Tehran which is marked as a momentous incident in Iranian history.

The US embassy takeover, known as the seizure of Den of Espionage, is a momentous incident in contemporary Iran characterized by tarnishing the arrogant image of the West. However, Hollywood tried in ‘Argo’ as a futile effort to demonize Iran through fabrication and distorting historical facts.

The flick is a fiction about those six diplomats, as well as a CIA agent whose role is portrayed by Affleck. The agent inspired by 'Star Wars' designed the escape plan for the six diplomats. As part of the operation, a security team in disguise of filmmakers travels to Iran. They are tasked with helping the diplomats escape from Iran. The operation is done successfully in the end. 

'Argo' was filmed in Morocco and is an Academy Award winner for Best Picture. Awarding the mediocre flick at the Oscars 2013 in the presence of stronger competitors is in line with the US government's efforts to highlight 'Argo' and shows the politicized nature of the award. 

The production of this flick could be down to the humiliation the US suffered after the 444-day takeover of its embassy, Iranian historian Khosrow Motazed said.  

‘Argo ‘is alleged to be based on a declassified true story. Though, the screenwriter was not aware of the fact that a misleading narrative cannot reveal the whole story. For instance, the flick featured Iranian students who took over the US embassy as military forces, while according to recounts of witnesses none of the students carried guns. Masoumeh Ebtekar, Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, who played an active role in the incident, confirmed this truth as well.

The Den of Espionage is a metaphor for the US embassy in Tehran as the US was trying to plot against the Iranian people’s Islamic Revolution similar to the 1953 coup d'état they staged against the Mossadegh government in Iran. Knowing this shows how Affleck’s movie tells the audience a half-truth or better say a full-blown lie.  

Some American news websites also revealed that the CIA played an important role in supporting the production of such movie. On top of that, no contemporary historian has ever verified the accuracy of the events in ‘Argo’, which reveals the shaky narrative of the movie.

On November 4, 1979, after the victory of the Islamic Revolution that toppled a US-backed monarchy, Iranian university students took hold of the US embassy in Tehran, which had become a center of espionage and planning to overthrow the newly established government in Iran.

The students who seized the embassy later published documents proving that the embassy was indeed engaged in plans and measures to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

The anniversary of the US Den of Espionage takeover is commemorated every year in Iran and many other countries with the Persian name of the occasion, the 13th of Aban, denoting the date in the Iranian calendar,

AG/AG