16, Princes gate, London 5th May, 1980

David Shepherd

CBE OBE FRSA FGRA
david shepherd sas iran embassyseige print

16 Princes Gate - 5th May 1980
(The Final Scene as the Last of the Terrorists are Dealt with and the Hostages are Safely Evacuated from the Embassy)
Limited edition print

Operation Nimrod
The SAS Assault at Princes Gate
London, 1980
By Thomas B. Hunter
Reprinted by permission of Special Operations Journal (c. 1997)

david shepherd sas iran embassyseige print, certificate

At 11:30 a.m. on 30 April 1980, six armed revolutionaries of the Democratic Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Arabistan (DRMLA) burst into the Iranian Embassy at No. 16 Princes Gate, London firing weapons and taking twenty-six hostages. They brought with them a small but deadly arsenal, including SMG and Browning 9mm pistols (loaded with hollow-point ammunition), a .38 revolver, and Russian-made hand grenades. The gunmen, it would soon be revealed, were members of an Iraqi-backed, anti-Khomeni organization whose goal was regional autonomy for Arabistan, an oil-rich province in southwest Iran. Oan, the leader of the terrorists, promptly made the following announcement: "One: we demand our human and legitimate rights. Two: we demand freedom, autonomy and recognition of the Arabistan people. Three: we demand the release of ninety-one Arab prisoners in Arabistan." Then came the threat. "If all the demands are not met by noon on Thursday, May 1, the Embassy and all the hostages will be blown up."

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