The Iranian Embassy siege took place from 30 April to 5 May 1980, after a group of six armed men stormed the Iranian embassy in South ...Kensington, London.
On the sixth and final day of the the Iranian Embassy siege, the militants executed one hostage, prompting Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to green light a prompt military response.
On May 5 - utilizing building blueprints, fiber-optic probes and some noise assistance from overhead planes instructed to fly low - the British Special Air Services (SAS) stormed the building in five teams of four.
A gun fight ensued, leaving six dead - five militants, and one hostage.
In military terms it was a stunning success and characterised the uncompromising attitude of the Thatcher era: neither she nor her soldiers would bow to the demands of the terrorists.
"Gentlemen, there is nothing sweeter than success and you boys have got it, " the Prime Minister said as she toasted the SAS, sipping from a can of Foster's lager that had been thrust into her hand.