And the announcement
by the Ayatollah Khomeini that women and
blacks inside the embassy were to be
freed was fully accepted by the
crowds outside as they chanted
their anti-American slogans.
They also sang the praises of Khomeini
and pledged their loyalty to him.
This afternoon, the students occupying
the embassy called a news conference
one of their religious leaders, the
Ayatollah Khomeini, said those
hostages who remain behind will
be put on trial on
the list of hostages will be tried
in Iran
and they will be punished
according to
the decision of the Islamic
Court in Iran.
You got it.
The ayatollah said that if the Shah were
to be returned to Iran, the trials
would stop.
So for the hostages who will stay behind,
the ordeal goes on perhaps for some
time, especially now that the students
have vowed to put them on trial.
George Lewis, NBC News, inside
the American embassy compound in Tehran.