Canadian Caper
The "Canadian Caper" was the joint covert rescue by the Canadian government and the CIA of six American diplomats who had evaded capture during the seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran, Iran, on November 4, 1979, after the Iranian Revolution, when Islamist students took most of the American embassy personnel hostage, demanding the return of the US-backed Shah for trial.
The "caper" involved two CIA officers (Tony Mendez and his colleague Ed Johnson) joining the six diplomats in Tehran to form a fake film crew.
It was purportedly made up of six Canadians, one Irishman and one Latin American, who were finishing scouting for an appropriate location to shoot a scene for the science-fiction film Argo, production of which had in fact been abandoned.
On the morning of Sunday, January 27, 1980, the full eight-person party passed through passport control, at the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, boarded a Swissair flight to Zürich and escaped Iran.
On September 14, 2023, as part of the season finale of The Langley Files podcast, the CIA disclosed the identity of "Julio" to be Ed Johnson, a linguist and expert in extractions.
Amid the turmoil, a mob of young Islamists, known as the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, stormed the US Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, capturing dozens of diplomats and holding them hostage.
Looking for options, Anders contacted his old friend John Sheardown, a Canadian immigration officer, and received an enthusiastic invitation for the entire group.
The passports that were issued contained a set of forged Iranian visas prepared by the US Central Intelligence Agency to be used in an attempt to escape from Iran.
[9] Alternative passports and identities had been prepared for a variety of scenarios, but the cover story selected had the six as Canadians working on a Hollywood crew scouting movie locations.
The elaborate back-story concerned a film named Argo, based on the 1967 Roger Zelazny science fiction novel Lord of Light.
The original Lord of Light project, produced by Barry Geller and starring Rosey Grier, had been abandoned before the start of filming after funds were embezzled; concept art by Jack Kirby existed, and the script was set on a planet with a Middle-Eastern feel, which the team could use to justify their desire to scout locations in Iran.
Display ads for the upcoming "Studio Six" film were placed in Hollywood publications, and one such newspaper was given to Cora Lijek to carry as part of her cover materials.
Robert Sidell, a friend of Chambers and also a makeup artist, posed as a film producer at related events, while his wife Joan performed as the receptionist at "Studio Six".
Fortunately, extra passports had been included, so Mendez and Johnson were able to insert new visa stamps with dates based on the Iranian calendar.
[14] Early on the morning of Sunday, January 27, 1980, Mendez, Johnson, and the six American diplomats, traveling with real Canadian passports and forged entry documents, easily made it through security at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport.
[2][non-primary source needed] After a short delay because of mechanical difficulties with the McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62, the group boarded Swissair flight 363 (Registration: HB-IDL) for Zürich, Switzerland.
There, they were told that, for diplomatic purposes, they would not be able to talk to the press and that they would be kept hidden in a secret location in Florida until the hostage situation was resolved.
[7] President Jimmy Carter had officially maintained for negotiation purposes that all of the missing American diplomats were held hostage, so the news about six being rescued came as a complete surprise to the public.
[17] A children's illustrated book about the event was written by 2013 Eric Hoffer Award–winner Laura Scandiffio and Stephen MacEachern, entitled Escapes!
[20] In particular, the film focuses largely on the role the CIA played in the operation and minimizes the extended involvement of the Canadians, and their share of strategy and preparation.
