How a daring daylight raid broadcast on live TV made the elite British SAS back into a household...

The hostage-takers were members of an obscure Arab terrorist organization who opposed Ayatollah Khomeini and wanted Iran to give autonomy to Arabistan, or Khuzestan Province, a small but oil-rich province in southwest Iran.

Their intrusion began an ordeal that would end with a spectacular raid by the UK’s top special-operations unit, the Special Air Service (SAS), on May 5.

In a first, the rescue was captured on live television, giving the SAS, which was created during World War II, newfound fame.