Captives of History?

The chances that the president-elect of Iran would thaw relations with the country he called “the Great Satan” a quarter of a century ago were infinitesimal from the start. But somehow they managed to get slimmer Thursday with the assertion by several Americans that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was among the group that in 1979 took them hostage at the U.S. Embassy for 444 days.

Iranians who admit to having been hostage-takers scoffed at the reports. Biographies of the new president say he was a member of a faction of the radical group that took over the embassy, but Ahmadinejad’s supporters said that, far from targeting the U.S. Embassy, then labeled the “Den of Spies,” he wanted to seize the Soviet Embassy as part of his fight against Marxism. Even now, that might not go over too well in Moscow. Russia is building a nuclear power plant in Iran that Tehran wants badly -- and that Washington doesn’t want completed even more. Iran’s new leader could put the U.S. and Russia on the same side.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Thursday that the administration takes the former hostages’ claims seriously and is investigating. National security advisor Stephen Hadley was cautious, emphasizing that the claims were “allegations” needing to be looked at.

Even if no clear evidence emerges to support the former hostages’ memories, Ahmadinejad’s presidency is likely to worsen the relationship with Washington. He’s close to the unelected clergy who hold real power in Iran and insist on the country’s right to have nuclear power, if not nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad’s supporters said they hoped his tenure would restore to the country the revolutionary spirit of 1979.

Before the election, those within the Bush administration who wanted to improve relations with Iran appeared to be gaining the upper hand. The president agreed to support the attempts of Britain, France and Germany to persuade Tehran to swear off nuclear weapons. But if Ahmadinejad is found to have seized hostages, the administration’s hard-liners will gain more clout and be in a better position to argue for once again isolating a charter member of the “axis of evil.”