The Siege

On 30 April 1980, six armed men seize the Iranian Embassy in London and take twenty-six people hostage. Their political demands connect the crisis to the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, while police negotiators attempt to keep the captors talking and gather information about conditions inside the building.

After six days, the killing of a hostage prompts the government to authorise an assault by the Special Air Service. Macintyre reconstructs the negotiations, the experiences of hostages and gunmen, and Operation Nimrod from contemporary records and testimony, showing how a live television event transformed public understanding of terrorism, policing and special forces.