Jimmy waited too long to get the Iranian embassy back. That is what started this mess.
No, Carter not slagging every Iranian military base and Teheran is was started this mess. Just like the Russians prevented any further kidnappings of their people in the M.E. with some incredibly harsh measures against a terrorist's family members (pun intended), had we done something similar then the Moose Limbs wouldn't be bothering us. Of course, had Carter actually had a spine and done that, then he'd have had a 2nd term to really phuck things up (kind of like the present America-hating Moron-in-Chief).