The Moment

11|4|09: Tehran

The 30th anniversary of the U.S.-embassy takeover got off to its expected start: thousands of demonstrators were bused in to shout the usual slogans in front of the building now known as the Den of Spies. But in a square not far away, hundreds gathered to protest the government itself, clashing with police and dodging tear gas. Thirty years after Iranian students took 53 Americans hostage, U.S.-Iran relations are nearing another nadir: Tehran has blamed its unrest on Western meddling, and October's U.N.-brokered deal to reduce Iran's nuclear stockpile appears to be collapsing. Yet many Iranians no longer buy their leaders'...

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