Can Iran Be Forgiven?

A dramatic meeting between a former American hostage and one of his captors could be a powerful symbol of reconciliation

It has been almost 19 years, but the images from Tehran are forever burned into the American psyche. The sudden assault on the U.S. embassy by Iranian students. The angry street mobs shouting "Death to America!" The parades of helpless, blindfolded hostages. Back home, outraged Americans could only imagine the horrors that the 52 prisoners faced during their 444 days of captivity.

Barry Rosen did not have to imagine. He was there. As the embassy's press officer in 1979, he was not only taken hostage at gunpoint but also accused of leading a spy ring and subjected to a mock trial....

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