I saw an interview with the American ambassador to Iran who was at the center of the crisis. This was obviously a Carter appointment. He claims that during the election of 1980, the one of the leaders of the hostage takers was watching tv during Reagan’s victory. He said they showed pictures of Reagan riding a horse with his cowboy hat on. The leader turned to the ambassador and asked what he thought Reagan would do. The ambassador said he knew Reagan was being portrayed as tough (as he put it) in the media. The ambassador paused for a moment and simply opened up his fingers on one hand and made an explosion sound.
So the idea the Iranians weren’t at least somewhat concerned about what Reagan would do is intellectually dishonest at best. I’m sure humiliating Carter was icing on the cake, not that Carter needed any help humiliating himself.
Well, there you have it. Thanks for that information.