The Canadian Caper
- The "Canadian Caper" was the joint covert rescue operation by the Government of Canada and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that rescued six American diplomats who escaped from the US embassy in Tehran.
- This event occurred during the Iranian Revolution (1978–79) and in November 1979, a group of radical Iranians, consisting of primarily university students, broke into the American Embassy in Tehran and held a group American staff hostage for months on end in horrific conditions (this event would later be known as the Iran hostage crisis).
- The day the Embassy was taken over, six American diplomats were able to escape and the Canadian Ambassador in Iran, Ken Taylor, alongside the Canadian Government and the CIA, helped provide them shelter and eventually helped them escape.
- The Canadian Government passed a special "Order in Council" that allowed the creation of Canadian passports to be issues to the Americans to allow for their safe return home.
Citation
Canada. Global Affairs Canada. Ken Taylor and the Canadian Caper. 2019. https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/history-histoire/ken-taylor.aspx?lang=eng
Further Readings
For more information on the Canadian Caper mission: https://diplomacy.state.gov/argo-and-the-canadian-six/
& https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2017/01/27/canada-history-jan-27-1980-the-famous-canadian-caper-rescue/
& https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/revisiting-canadas-contribution-to-resolving-the-iranian-hostage-crisis
& https://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/iran-hostage-crisis
& https://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/research/hostages_and_casualties
Overlapping Topics
Military, Defence, and Peacekeeping
Policy Sub-Topic
Policy Type
Military Operation Record