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Tehran Mission

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Tehran Mission is an alternate history novel based on the failed 1980 Iran Hostage mission.

The facts:

The 1980 attempt to rescue the Iran embassy hostages failed due to circumstances beyond the control of the brave men of Operation Eagle Claw. But considering the meticulous planning and the competence of Delta Force and its supporting elements, it should have!

In this alternate history novel it does!

Captain "Bull" St. Stephen and his Special Forces A-team are infiltrated into Tehran to serve as an in-country intelligence asset. In a series of perilous incidents, they discover that militant students and mujahedin are planning another assault on the embassy and to take its occupants hostage. Their intent is an exchange for the deposed Shah who has sought refuge in the U.S. Alerted to that possibility, the Joint Chiefs of Staff order Delta and a joint task force - JTF7- to prepare for Operation Scimitar: a coordinated mission to rescue the hostages should that come about.

A suspenseful tale of covert operations, deception and peril, the story rivets the reader's attention in a fast moving novel.

R.R. Wright and I served together in Fort Bragg in the days of yore. I believe his writing has the ring of authenticity that can only be gained by flinging one's self out of airplanes loaded with combat gear and knowing what it is like to be shot at. This kind of experience has given Wright's material the rhythm and drive of authentic dialogue and structure. His understanding of the minutia of mission planning makes this novel a real "how to" book for the unschooled reader. The elegance of this novel is its ability to grab the reader and take him on an exciting and dangerous mission from the safety of his armchair.

Anyone who enjoys non-stop action with extensive details on weaponry and intelligence terminology will enjoy this book. The Glossary is worth the price of the book!

This is a novel that was inspired by true events. The book follows the exploits of a fictional Army Special Forces Captain by the name of Béla "Bull" St. Stephen, call sign "Bird Dog," and his A-Team ODA-011 of the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group.

The book is dedicated to the memory of the men of Operation Eagle Claw who attempted to rescue 53 American hostages held in Iran on 25 April 1980, which resulted in the death of eight members of the rescue force.

The book's timeline runs from 2 May 1979 to 8 November 1979. In Wright's book, the seizure of the American Embassy on 4 November 1979 has been anticipated based on the actual first seizure of the embassy on 14 February 1979. In the novel, American Special Operation Forces prepare the battlefield in case another seizure occurred. The operation plan is called "Operation Scimitar," a contingency plan. In real life the National Command Authority did nothing until it was realized that the Iranians weren't planning on letting the hostages go any time soon.

The book follows an imaginary line with foresight, describing as to how events could have been different and the hostages might not have had to endure 444 days of captivity. The story is entertaining and the author's special operations background gives certain credibility to the story.

The reviewer, Mike R. Vining, is a retired U.S. Army Sergeant Major who served in the Army from 1968 to 1999 in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Special Operations field. He was also a member of the Iran hostage rescue attempt, Operation Eagle Claw.

'I have just finished reading "Tehran Mission"and have been very impressed with the book. Very interesting. Very well written and particularly well documented. This is a well crafted look

inside military covert operations involving an episode in American History that we are all somewhat familiar with. The book fills in the blanks in a very exciting story line that keeps the pages turning. Well done.

Col. R. Thomas Roe, USAF Ret. Author of The Gaelic Letters

In 1978 and 1979 Special Agents from the USAF Office of Special Investigations (OSI) were sent into Iran to bolster the OSI offices at Tehran's Gulf District Compound. We had protected Crown Prince Reza in the US and now we were being called in to collect and analyze terrorist information from radicals working with hostile Iranian forces to overthrow the Shah. This book tells the story of what many of us wanted to happen. Numerous pro Shah military units and SAVAK had left Iran and to use them in a role to rescue our hostages and hit at the Ayatollahs forces appeared natural to us. Contacts with the revolutionary element suggested ANY show of force by the US military and tough stand by our President would have immediately caused the release of the US Embassy hostages. What happened was unbelievable! A total lack of a US follow up actually meant to the hostage takers that the US did not value the hostages. The Carter camp would not force the issue. To those who were in the first Embassy take over and the second longer take over would have thought the US might have utilized the numbers of pro US and pro Shah forces to act in our behalf. They were all US trained, they hated the Ayatollah, and they loved the US. This book shows what might have happened if we had utilized our allied forces correctly.

Tehran Mission by ex special forces officer R R Wright is an exciting story detailing the planning, rehearsals, and execution of a dificult hostage rescue mission in extremely hostile territory. The skills, training and bravery of special forces personnel is remarkable.

Fast action suspense. This book is a unique fictional perspective of an event that heralded the West's battle with fundamental Islam - the taking of the hostages in Iran. The book details the "should have been" history of the rescue mission. The author's experiences as a Special Forces officer is evident in his illustration of tactics, weapons and fieldcraft. Any one with a military background will appreciate the detail and insight. I particularly liked Wright's character development of Captain St. Stephen -- the protagonist -- and his characterization of Massoud, the story's foil.

Reads like a Tom Clancy novel. Couldn't put it down and wish reality had more closely mirrored the events detailed here.

If you're into Special Forces, this book is for you. I had no idea so much went into a joint forces operation! Wright's knowledge and attention to detail create an amazing picture of a complex mission. It's just too bad the real mission didn't go as well.