The fake film company that gave six Americans a way out of Tehran

A pair of fake eyeglasses survives in the National Museum of American Diplomacy as evidence of a real escape. Kathleen Stafford wore them as part of a new identity: a member of a Canadian film crew visiting Iran. She and five other Americans had escaped the November 4, 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Their route to safety depended on Canadian protection, false documentation and a CIA plan to turn ordinary diplomats into convincing movie-industry travelers.

The Canadian shelter came first. The museum’s account describes Bob Anders calling Canadian diplomat John Sheardown as the Americans moved from house to house. Joseph and Kathleen Stafford eventually stayed with Ambassador Ken Taylor; the other four stayed with the Sheardowns. They remained hidden for almost three months. Their hosts were protecting people who feared discovery by the militants who held their colleagues. By the time a departure plan took shape, survival had already required weeks of quiet help from Canadian households.

CIA officer Tony Mendez built the exit story with Hollywood makeup artist and agency contractor John Chambers. They created Studio Six Productions, complete with an office on a studio lot, business cards, a working telephone number and staged script readings. A science-fiction screenplay and artwork helped supply the fictional production’s appearance. The proposed movie was called Argo. The CIA’s account describes the travelers as a crew scouting locations, giving them a shared reason to be in Iran and a common explanation for leaving it.

After presidential approval on January 23, 1980, Mendez and a colleague went to Tehran to prepare the group. Canada sent passports and travel papers through its diplomatic pouch. The Americans rehearsed their cover stories, including a mock interrogation conducted by a Canadian diplomat. On January 28, they passed airport formalities and left aboard a Swissair flight after a mechanical delay. The CIA kept its role secret until 1997. The museum’s glasses preserve one small piece of the larger performance that carried all six to safety.