U.S. victims of 1979 Iran hostage crisis receive compensation

After more than 36 years, the Americans who were held hostage for 444 days at the U.S. Embassy in Iran will receive financial compensation for their suffering. Each of the 53 former victims and/or their families will receive up to $4.4 million — up to $10,000 per day for each day they were held hostage.

"I had to pull over to the side of the road, and I basically cried," said Rodney V. Sickmann, a Marine sergeant who was working as a guard at the embassy in Tehran when a group of students took over during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The provision was buried in the massive spending bill Congress passed last week.

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