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On the 24th of April 1980, the US military conducted Operation Eagle Claw that aimed to free 53 American citizens held hostage by an Iranian student terror organisation in the US embassy in Teheran, Iran. This study uses the factors of simplicity, security and rehearsal to investigate why this rescue mission resulted in failure. These three factors derives from the principles of Simplicity, Security and Repetition from McRaven´s theory of relative superiority, and the criteria of Feasible Objectives, Flexibility of Mind and Tactical Competence from Gray´s theory on when special operations succeed.

Based on a qualitative single case study, the results suggest that the factors of simplicity and rehearsal were absent during the planning and preparation of the operation, but that the factor of security was, however, present in excess. In the end, this dynamic generated a complex plan that was not properly rehearsed, which resulted in mission failure. The study contributes to existing research on Operation Eagle Claw, and gives further understanding to the area of special operations and its relevance to the Swedish Armed Forces.