On March 26, 1979, after 444 days in captivity, the American hostages held in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran were finally released. The hostages had been taken during the Iranian Revolution, when militants stormed the embassy in November 1979. The release came shortly after the election of President Jimmy Carter and was a major diplomatic victory for his administration. The hostages were freed just hours after the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan. The crisis left a lasting impact on U.S.-Iran relations and the political landscape of the 1980s.