June 14, 2026

#43 - Ambassador John Limbert (Part 2)

Show Notes

Note: This is the second of a two-part episode. We strongly recommend you start with Part 1.

John Limbert was among 66 Americans taken hostage in the U.S. Embassy in November 1979, and among 52 who were held 444 days--an historical event that riveted America and the world. Episode 1 took us to the eve of the Iranian revolution. Here, Limbert shares his account of his time as a hostage and some well-earned thoughts on what is happening in Iran right now.

John Limbert's 34-year career in the U.S. foreign service was mostly spent in the Middle East and Islamic Africa, where he also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Mauritania. In 2009-2010, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in Near Eastern (or Iranian) Affairs. He was among the last American diplomats to serve in Tehran, where he was taken captive in 1979. Following his diplomatic career, until 2018, he was the Class of 1955 Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy. He holds the Department of State's highest award--the Distinguished Service Award--and other Department awards, including the Award of Valor, which he received after 14 months as a hostage in Iran.

Ambassador Limbert holds his Ph.D. from Harvard University in history and Middle Eastern studies. Before joining the foreign service, he taught in Iran as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iranian Kurdistan and as an instructor at Shiraz University. He has written numerous articles and books on Middle Eastern subjects. He also co-authored (with Ambassador Marc Grossman) the espionage novel Believers: Love and Death in Tehran.