Lebanon hostage crisis

[8] The motive for the hostage-taking was to stop the United States and others from retaliating against Hezbollah for killing 241 Americans and 58 French in the Marine barracks and embassy bombings in Beirut in 1983.

[12] This, along with public pressure from the media and families of the hostages, led to a breakdown of the anti-terrorism principle of "no negotiations, no concessions" by American and French officials.

Hezbollah was promised that it could remain armed following the end of the Lebanese Civil War and that France and America would not seek revenge against it.

Analysis of the hostage-crisis in Lebanon yields that Hezbollah was undisputably responsible for the aforementioned abductions of Westerners despite attempts to shield its complicity through the employment of cover-names.

Its organisational framework was not only sophisticated and assimilated according to Iranian clerical designs but also closely integrated with several key Iranian institutions which provided it with both necessary weaponry and training to successfully confront self-proclaimed Islamic enemies and invaluable financial support ...[7]Hezbollah itself, denies the charge, proclaiming in 1987: We look with ridicule at the accusations of Hezbollah in connection with the abductions of foreign hostages.

[47] The two main operatives of the hostage taking were reported to be Imad Mughniyah, a senior member of the Hezbollah organization, who was described by journalist Robin Wright as the "master terrorist" behind the campaign[5] and Husayn Al-Musawi (also spelled Hussayn al-Mussawi).

[29] According to scholar Gilles Kepel "a few of the kidnappings were money-driven or linked to local concerns, but most obeyed a logic whereby Hezbollah itself was no more than a subcontractor for Iranian initiatives".

The deal also brought political, military and financial benefits to Iran itself: the release of its frozen assets and desperately needed spare parts for their armaments.

[59] This combination of factors created a setting whereby UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar and his personal envoy, Giandomenico Picco (served on the Board of Governmental Relations for the American Iranian Council), could negotiate "a comprehensive resolution to the hostage-crisis".