Iran International:

The ousted Shah and not the United States under Jimmy Carter was responsible for the the rise of the Islamic Republic, a senior aide delivering a eulogy at the late president's funeral said on Thursday.

"Jimmy Carter did not lose Iran, the Shah did," Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s chief domestic policy adviser, told luminaries gathered at Washington DC's national cathedral.

"The hostage crisis was a major factor in denying him a second term, despite his support for the Shah, because he placed the safe return of the hostages above his own political fortunes."

President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump and all other living former US presidents were in attendance.

Carter and Shah met twice during Carter's presidency, in Washington DC and Tehran, in November and December of 1977. In Tehran, Carter famously toasted the Shah, praising Iran as "an island of stability" in a turbulent region.

Two years later the Shah was forced to leave Iran as revolutionaries led by Ruhollah Khomeini gained control, storming the US embassy in Tehran and holding more than 50 Americans hostage.

The 444-day hostage crisis was an excruciating political liability for Carter, who was painted as weak by his Republican successor Ronald Reagan. A US military raid to free the captives failed, deepening Carter's humiliation.

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