Incident Summary:
04/05/1992: Five members of the Mujahideen-I-Khalq Iranian group, armed with knives, forcibly entered and seized the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in Manhattan, New York, in the United States. During the two-hour siege, the men took three hostages, and destroyed computers and furniture, and spray painted slogans on walls. None of the hostages, nor any other individuals were injured during the rampage; two hostages escaped when police broke through the back doors of the building, and the third hostage was released after the perpetrators surrendered to police negotiators. A statement made by the Bonn headquarters of the People's Mujahideen stated the incident was in response to an Iranian air raid against the National Liberation Army (a military wing of the group) hiding in Iraq. All five suspects were arrested and charged for this incident.
Overview
GTD ID:
199204050016
When:
1992-04-05
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
New York
City:
New York City
Location Details:
Manhattan; 34th floor of the tower at 622 Third Ave. at East 40th Street
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Barricade Incident) |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Government (Diplomatic) |
Name of Entity |
Iranian Government in United States |
Specific Description |
Iranian Mission to the United Nations in New York |
Nationality of Target |
Iran |
Additional Information
Hostages |
Yes |
Number of Hostages |
3 |
US Hostages |
3 |
Hours of Kidnapping |
2 |
Days of Kidnapping |
0 |
Outcome |
Combination |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
Weapon Details |
knives |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Additional Information |
The hostage takeover occurred at 1:47PM and lasted until about 3:30PM, when the third hostage was released and the perpetrators surrendered. This Incident was one in a series of Missions attacks in 10 different nations on this day in protest of the Iranian air raid against government rebels hiding in Iraq. This was the only incident that occurred in the United States. The five perpetrators were arrested at the scene, and eventually indicted for their crimes. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Letter) |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
5 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
5 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
"Terrorism in the United States: 1982-1992," Terrorist Research and Analytical Center, Counterterrorism Section, Intelligence Division, FBI, 1992. |
Robert D. McFadden, "Iran Rebels Hit Missions in 10 Nations," New York Times, April 6, 1992. |
"Protesters seize Iranian mission in New York," United Press International, April 5, 1992. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties