Iran Picks Ex-Hostage Taker for UN

Iran’s nomination of Hamid Aboutalebi to be United Nations ambassador has set off a ripple of anger in Washington, as Aboutalebi was part of the Muslim student group that took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. During the seizure, 52 Americans were held for 444 days. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said at a briefing that the move “would be extremely troubling… we’ve raised our serious concerns about this possible nomination with the government of Iran.” Aboutalebi says he had limited involvement with the hostage-taking group. Sen. John McCain had strong words for the nomination, declaring it was “a really kind of an in-your-face action by the Iranian government.”