Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the current hard-line President of Iran, was a student activist during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The student organization to which he belonged was heavily involved in the taking of the U.S. Embassy in Teheran, sparking the Iran Hostage Crisis which has so deeply colored U.S./Iranian relations down to the present day. His own role in the crisis is disputed...some hostages remember him as one of their captors, and there is a photo which seems to back this up, but Ahmadinejad himself, and the Iranian government, deny it.
According to a recent documentary on Ahmadinejad, during the planning meeting at which the Embassy attack was approved, Ahmadinejad is said to have argued against taking the American Embassy. Instead, he is said to have argued for taking the SOVIET Embassy, as the Soviets were "more of a threat" (being close, while the Americans were far away) and were "Godless non-believers." His suggestions were brushed aside, and the American Embassy was taken.
But what if he had been listened to, and the students stormed the Soviet Embassy instead? This brings up a lot of potential issues.
1) How does the Soviet Union respond? Would they invade Iran, as they did Afghanistan?
2) How does the United States respond? If the Soviets do invade, does this provide an opening for the U.S. to rebuild it's relationship with Iran?
3) How does this affect Jimmy Carter's run for the Presidency in 1980?
Any other thoughts?