The
Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line (
Dânešjuyân Mosalmân Piru Xatt Emâm), also called the
Muslim Students of the Imam Khomeini Line, was an
Iranian student group that
occupied the U.S. embassy in
Tehran on 4 November 1979. The students were supporters of the
Islamic Revolution who occupied the embassy to show their support for Ayatollah Khomeini and their outrage that the ex-
Shah of Iran was admitted to the United States for cancer treatment, instead of being returned to Iran for trial and execution. The occupation triggered the
Iran hostage crisis where 52 American diplomats were held hostage for 444 days.