During my administration the most unpleasant and perhaps most dramatic negotiations in which we participated were with the various leaders of Iran after the seizure of American hostages in November 1979. The Algerians were finally chosen as the only intermediaries who were considered trustworthy both by me and the Ayatollah Khomeini. After many aborted efforts, final success was achieved during my last few hours in the White House.
ATTRIBUTION:
Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.) (b. 1924), U.S. president. Negotiation: The Alternative to Hostility, p. 11, Macon, GA: Mercer University Press (1984).
Explaining how he won release of the American hostages in Iran.
