So we’re here outside the U.S. embassy compound in Tehran. Here we have an apple with the CNN logo. The Twin Towers interspersed with the dollar sign. The Statue of Liberty. This is one of the most photographed walls, probably in all of Tehran. Americans know this as the former U.S. compound. But to Iranians, this is known as the “U.S. Den of Espionage Museum.” And of course, what happened here is at the root of the hostility between the U.S. and Iran for over four decades, a hostility that escalated recently. In June, Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, resulting in a short but intense war that rattled the capital, killing hundreds. Foreign journalists face restricted access in Iran, but during a recent trip, officials allowed us to visit the former embassy, where much of the current animosity traces back to. On November 4, 1979, Iranian students stormed the embassy, fearing the U.S. planned to restore the Shah, or king, who had been deposed months earlier. They held 52 hostages for a total of 444 days. [Voiceover] “The students had restricted outside contacts with the hostages. So far they’d refused to forward letters to their captors.” “How can you call these hostages? These people are political smugglers.” “I announced a series of economic and political actions.” “We’re beyond the time for gestures. We want our people to be set free.” Six C.I.A. officers were among the hostages, the U.S. government later said, accusing Iran of violating diplomatic conventions. Decades of tensions would follow. “So this was during the hostage crisis?” “After the hostage crisis.” “After the students came in.” Twenty-one-year-old Amir is working here as a guide as part of his compulsory military service. Like many in Iran, where self-censorship is common, he asked us not to use his last name. “Typically, how many people visit this museum every year?” “It’s about 5,000, most of them from Asia. But rarely we have visitors from U.S. and U.K. too.” This is the former U.S. ambassador’s office. It’s been carefully preserved to look largely like it did before the hostage crisis. When it became certain that the students were taking over the embassy, the Americans inside desperately tried to shred as many classified documents as they could. “These are the famous shredding machines probably known to most Americans from the movie Argo, right?” “The students tried to recover some of these documents. It took six years to reassemble the shred papers together. And, after recovery, students classified all these documents as a book.” There’s a particular focus on this part of the museum, which is presented as the C.I.A. station. It’s full of spy equipment. There’s encryption devices, there’s an eavesdropping machine. There’s a secure room just behind me. And for the regime here that is presented as proof that this building wasn’t just used for diplomacy, but was also used to surveil Iranians and, as they see it, to meddle in their affairs. “This is all the material for tapping communications, monitoring communications.” “Yeah, I mean, I got to say, it’s more elaborate than I would have imagined, right? It gives you an insight into what espionage looked almost five decades ago.” The message at the museum was clear for its visitors, including the handful of foreign journalists, like us, who had been allowed in. The Americans were untrustworthy then and shouldn’t be trusted now. Many Iranians told me they viewed the museum as a relic of the distant past, but they were also on high alert since the war in June, and fears that fighting with the United States could start at any moment. A reminder that this troubled history still rings loud today.

The former Kenyan PM had collapsed during a morning walk in southern India, where he was receiving medical treatment.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, ​​a key figure in African politics, has died at the age of 80 during a trip to India for medical treatment, according to local police and hospital officials.

The former prime minister, who as opposition leader had waged five unsuccessful presidential campaigns between 1997 and 2022, had suffered a heart attack, the Devamatha Hospital in the southern Indian state of Kerala confirmed to The Associated Press news agency on Wednesday.

Odinga was a dominant force in Kenyan politics, and his death will leave a significant leadership vacuum within the country’s political opposition ahead of elections in 2027.

An Indian police official told the AFP news agency that Odinga had been on a morning walk, accompanied by his sister, daughter, a personal doctor, and Indian and Kenyan security officers, when he collapsed.

“He was rushed to a nearby private hospital, but was declared dead,” said Krishnan M, additional superintendent of police in Ernakulam, Kerala.

Unnamed officials in Odinga’s office also confirmed the death to news agencies.

Indian newspaper Mathrubhumi had earlier reported the death, adding that Odinga had been undergoing medical treatment in the state’s Kochi city.

Pro-democracy campaigner

Born on January 7, 1945, Odinga was the son of the country’s first vice president after independence in 1963.

A member of the Luo tribe, he spent most of his adult life in politics, including time in exile and eight years in prison as a pro-democracy campaigner – but never achieved his goal of becoming Kenya’s president.

Odinga first entered parliament in 1992, and ran unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022.

He claimed to have been cheated of victory in the last four elections, and led protests after the disputed 2007 election that led to Kenya’s most serious bout of political violence since independence.

About 1,300 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes in the battles. Large-scale protests also broke out during the 2017 election, in which the Supreme Court annulled the results of an initial poll, and Odinga withdrew from the follow-up, saying it would not be free and fair.

Odinga’s pro-democracy activism over the years helped drive two of the country’s most significant political reforms: multiparty democracy in 1991 and a new constitution in 2010.

In March, he signed a pact with Kenyan President William Ruto that saw his opposition Azimio la Umoja party involved in critical policymaking and its members appointed to the cabinet.

‘A great leader’

Kenya’s former chief justice and presidential hopeful, David Maraga, said he was “shocked” by news of Odinga’s death.

Odinga was “a patriot, a pan-Africanist, a democrat and a leader who made significant contributions to democracy in Kenya and in Africa”, Maraga wrote on X.

“Kenya has lost one of its most formidable leaders who shaped the trajectory of our beloved country. Africa has lost a leading voice in pushing for peace, security and development. The world has lost a great leader,” he added.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was among the first to react, posting on X: “On behalf of the Government of Ethiopia, I extend my sincere condolences on the passing of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga. May he Rest In Peace.”

I am shocked to learn of the demise of former Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, a patriot, a pan-Africanist, a democrat and a leader who made significant contributions to democracy in Kenya and in Africa.

Kenya has lost one of its most formidable leaders who shaped… pic.twitter.com/md6vfXyt9f

— David Maraga (@dkmaraga) October 15, 2025