President Carter applied economic and diplomatic pressure: Oil imports from Iran were ended on November 12, 1979, and with Executive Order 12170, around US$8 billion of Iranian assets in the United States were frozen by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on November 14.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis
52 American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days (November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981) after a group of Iranian students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis
The remaining 52 captives remained at the mercy of the Ayatollah for the next 14 months. President Jimmy Carter was unable to diplomatically resolve the crisis, and on April 24, 1980, he ordered a disastrous rescue mission in which eight U.S. military personnel were killed and no hostages rescued. Three months later, the former shah died of cancer in Egypt, but the crisis continued.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/iran-hostage-crisis-ends
The crisis reached a climax when, after failed efforts to negotiate the hostages' release, the United States military attempted a rescue operation using ships, including the USS Nimitz and USS Coral Sea, that were patrolling the waters near Iran.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis
Rubio replied: When I become president of the United States, our adversaries around the world will know that America is no longer under the command of someone weak like Barack Obama, and it will be like Ronald Reagan, where as soon as he took office the hostages were released from Iran..
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/17/marco-rubio/rubio-wrongly-credits-reagan-1981-release-hostages/
Rubio said that Iranian hostages were released in 1981 as Reagan took office because Iran perceived that America was no longer under the command of someone weak.. In reality, Reagan’s foreign policy approach wasn’t a factor in the hostages’ release, as scholars told us.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/17/marco-rubio/rubio-wrongly-credits-reagan-1981-release-hostages/
Soon after, with the assistance of Algerian intermediaries, successful negotiations began between the United States and Iran. On the day of Reagan’s inauguration, the United States freed almost $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets, and the hostages were released after 444 days. The next day, Jimmy Carter flew to West Germany to greet the Americans on their way home.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/iran-hostage-crisis-ends
Rubio wrongly credits Reagan for 1981 release of hostages from Iran. By Angie Drobnic Holan, Louis Jacobson on Sunday, January 17th, 2016 at 5:31 p.m. As news of Iran’s release of American prisoners spread, Republicans were quick to deny President Barack Obama much credit for the deal. Presidential candidate Marco Rubio said the United States should not have made any concessions to Iran.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/17/marco-rubio/rubio-wrongly-credits-reagan-1981-release-hostages/
Minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration as the 40th president of the United States, the 52 U.S. captives held at the U.S. embassy in Teheran, Iran, are released, ending the 444-day Iran Hostage Crisis.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/iran-hostage-crisis-ends
These events led the Iranian government to enter negotiations with the U.S., with Algeria acting as a mediator. The hostages were formally released into United States custody the day after the signing of the Algiers Accords, just minutes after the new American president, Ronald Reagan, was sworn into office. The crisis is considered a pivotal episode in the history of Iran–United States relations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis
who was the president when the hostages were freed
Ronald Reagan was the president when the hostages were freed. Ronald Reagan was the President when the hostages were freed.