Ben Macintyre: The Siege (July 2025)

The Siege is an in-depth, extensively researched account of the six day siege at the Iranian embassy in 1980. It is a non-fiction work which outlines the historical background of troubles in the Middle East between minority Arabs and the Iranian rulers and the conflict between Iran and Iraq.

Six heavily armed gunmen burst into the embassy taking twenty-six men and women hostage. They demand that ninety-one Arab political prisoners be released from a notorious jail, flown to London and from there to another unnamed destination within twenty-four hours. They also state the cause they represent.

The British Government is neither willing nor able to comply with this but they do not, as requested, relay the contents of the letter. This results in a lack of understanding by the press and the British public regarding the grievances of the hostage takers and adds to the escalation of tensions.

The gunmen, never referred to as terrorists, have been cynically manipulated by the organisers of this action in order to wreak havoc for their own political agenda. They must have been completely indifferent to the inevitable bloodshed and loss of life that ends any hostage taking situation.

From here on, the book is like reading a page-turning thriller but there is more to it than a gung-ho tale of derring-do. Ben Macintyre is very adept at bringing the individual characters to life and we particularly admired the way he can encapsulate a person in a few short words. We got to know all the people involved, to understand them and, particularly in the case of those held hostage, to care about what happens to them.

The trauma and stresses of being held captive at gunpoint are not downplayed and some of them never fully recovered from their ordeal.

In spite of this, great courage and resourcefulness is shown, for example, a policeman manages to hide his handgun under his coat and a journalist keeps a written account.

Meanwhile, the police and army are gathering outside and a negotiator is trying to reason with the gunmen whilst listening devices are being drilled through the walls.

Communications break down and the waiting SAS storm the building live on television, interrupting the snooker but not Coronation Street. It was watched by almost everyone except the government ministers at the Cobra meeting who didn’t have the set switched on.

The occasional dry humour in the book was most welcome and it was suggested that more would have been appreciated.

The SAS had ordered plasticuffs, presumably cable ties, and received, incongruously, a box of plastic cups.

The book includes photographs which helped to put a human face on the people we read about and they entrusted Ben Macintyre with their stories, exposing themselves at their most vulnerable and terrified as well as at their bravest.

The siege ended with five of the six gunmen shot, one hostage shot dead by the gunmen and two injured in the crossfire.

The book is well-written and gripping, but also insightful and compassionate.

We were left wondering if things could have been resolved without loss of life, though it also could have been worse.

This was a bit of a departure from our usual reading for some of us but well worth it and most of the group gave it 4/5.