TEHRAN - In a way, not much has changed, said the former hostage taker, Abbas Abdi, having just watched a bootleg copy of "Argo," the movie based on the 1979 seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran. ...
In 1979, Mr. Abdi could be seen night after night on the evening news programs in the United States as one of the Iranian student leaders who took 52 Americans captive.
—who is often described as the first person to storm the embassy, but later became a reformist, met with one of his hostages, was jailed for his political dissent of the current regime, and gives good zinger:
He said he did not agree with some hawkish Iranian politicians who have suggested that “Argo” was made to remind Americans of old wounds and humiliations, preparing them for a possible war with Iran.
“That’s stupid,” Mr. Abdi said with a laugh. “That’s like saying ‘Saving Private Ryan’ was made to prepare U.S. cinemagoers for going to war with Germany.”
