Iranian Embassy siege remembered

May 5 marks the 30th anniversary of the SAS mission to free 26 hostages held by terrorists at the Iranian Embassy in London.

The embassy in Knightsbridge was seized by six terrorists on April 30, 1980.

The gunmen, who called themselves the Democratic Revolutionary Front for Arabistan, were demanding the release of prisoners jailed in their own country and a plane to fly themselves and the hostages out of the UK.

But the siege ended when the SAS stormed the Princes Gate building and killed five of them on the sixth day. The drama was played out to a live TV audience of millions.

The elite military unit launched Operation Nimrod on the evening of May 5, the assault began with dozens of soldiers pouring into the building.

Preparations had been put in place with microphones drilled into the walls, close study of the layout and arrangements for aircraft to fly lower to drown out the noise but the gunmen triggered action when they killed a hostage and threw his body outside.

The only surviving terrorist from the siege has remained in the UK since being released from prison in 2008, it was disclosed.

Fowzi Nejad, 52, has been given "discretionary leave" to stay because he could face death or torture if deported to Iran, The Sun reported.

The Home Office said it could not comment on individual cases.