The shah traveled to Egypt, Morocco, The Bahamas, and Mexico before entering the United States on October 22, 1979, for medical treatment of lymphatic cancer. Two weeks later Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehrān and took hostage more than 50 Americans, demanding the extradition of the shah in return for the hostages’ release (see Iran hostage crisis). Extradition was refused, but the shah later left for Panama and then Cairo, where he was granted asylum by Pres. Anwar Sadat.Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (born October 26, 1919, Tehrān, Iran—died July 27, 1980, Cairo, Egypt) was the shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979, who maintained a pro-Western foreign policy and fostered economic development in Iran.
